Firefighters control Turkey's dangerous wildfires after days

Turkey's Forestry Ministry has announced that firefighters had successfully brought two large forest fires in İzmir and Bolu provinces and several relatively smaller ones across the country under control after days of burning.

Monday August 19 2024 01:01 pm

The wildfire in Manisa province destroys a wide range of area.

Reuters & Duvar English

Firefighters in Turkey have brought under control two large forest fires that had been burning for three days, with several other wildfires across the country expected to be put out soon, the Forestry Minister said on Aug. 18.

The blazes in Turkey's western coastal province of Izmir and northern province of Bolu started late on Aug. 15 and firefighters have been working to contain them since then.

Speaking in İzmir's Karşıyaka district, Forestry Minister İbrahim Yumaklı said cooling efforts were under way to fully extinguish the fires. A small fire that started in İzmir's Urla district on Aug. 18 was also under control, he said.

More forest fires in İzmir's Menderes district and in the western provinces of Aydın, Manisa and Uşak as well as the northern province of Karabük were still burning. Planes, helicopters and other vehicles had been brought in to douse the flames and all were "close to being contained."

Minister Yumaklı stated that the teams intervened 247 fires in the three days after Aug. 15 morning whereas 241 of them were taken under control and added, "For the moment, there are no fires that would cause us to worry."

Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç announced that 22 people were detained in connection with the forest fires in seven provinces. Nine of the suspects were arrested, five of them were released under judicial control measures and one of them was released after his statement was taken.

Earlier, Turkish authorities revealed that the major wildfire in Bolu province was sparked by two minors smoking cigarettes in a forested area. Meanwhile, the fire in İzmir province was attributed to a picnic fire.

Turkish authorities warned of a high risk of further wildfires in northern and western Turkey for the next couple of days due to high temperatures, low humidity and strong winds.

Several parts of Turkey, especially its coastal regions, have been ravaged by wildfires in recent years as summers have become hotter and drier, which scientists attribute to climate change.

Topics wildfires wildfires 2024 İzmir Manisa Forest fires in Turkey