Bozalan, Turkey: Agriculture and Forestry Minister Bekir pakdemirli Said that workers are still dealing with seven fires in the coastal provinces of Antalya and Mugla which are popular tourist areas. Other active fires were in Isparta, 380 kilometers (236 mi) northeast and southwest of Turkey’s Denizli province.
Another fire was brought under control on Monday in Tunceli in southeastern Turkey, the minister said. Since Wednesday, 129 fires in more than 30 provinces have been doused.
“We’re going through days when the heat is above 40 C (104 degrees Fahrenheit), where the winds are strong and the humidity extremely low,” Pakdemirli said. “We are struggling in such difficult circumstances.”
In Bozalan, Esra wept as she pointed to the fire near the village of Sanli.
“There’s no plane, no helicopter, no road. How’s this going to be extinguished? How?” he said.
Firetrucks, accompanied by their sirens, headed towards Bozalan, while villagers saw cows moving away from the area.
Residents were forced to evacuate the nearby village of Kokratme as the flames drew near on Sunday. Some were boarded on small boats and others were abandoned by cars as the fire gets closer and closer – scene by Ahmet Aras, mayor of a nearby resort Bodrum, described as “hell”. Precautions were taken to protect two nearby thermal power plants.
An evacuation order was also issued for the town of Turunk near the seaside resort of Marmaris in Mugla province. People fled in small boats carrying suitcases.
NS Me Said it helped mobilize firefighters from Croatia and Spain to assist Turkey. Aircraft from Ukraine, Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran are also fighting the fire. Spain said it was sending two water dump aircraft and a transport plane as well as 27 troops to help.
The EU announcement followed allegations that the Turkish government was compromising firefighting efforts by refusing help from Western countries. Pakdemirli denied this, saying that the government had only rejected proposals for aircraft that had a water dumping capacity of less than 5 tonnes. A total of 16 aircraft, 51 helicopters and over 5,000 personnel are dousing the fire, he said.
The government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has also been widely criticized for failing to purchase state-of-the-art firefighting aircraft.
In Marmaris, Mayor Mehmet Okte said fires were still burning in two places and estimated that 11,000 hectares (28,000 acres) of forest had been burned. On Monday, when police pulled out ambulance workers and journalists, the fire reached the edge of Hisaronu village, burning several houses and descending down a hill to a road.
“Our lungs have been burning for the past five days,” Okte told Haberturk television.
The health minister, Fahrettin Koca, said at least 27 people affected by the fire were still being treated in hospitals, while hundreds of others were treated and released.
Interior Minister Soylu said authorities were investigating the cause of the fire, which included human “negligence” and possible sabotage by illegal Kurdish militants. He said one person has been detained on the allegation that he may have been paid by the group to set the fire.
However, experts point to most people-caused accidents as well as climate change to be behind the fires. Erdogan has said that a fire was started by children.
A heat wave in southern Europe, fed by warm air from North Africa, has caused wildfires in the Mediterranean, including Italy and Greece, where people had to be evacuated by sea to escape the flames.
Another fire was brought under control on Monday in Tunceli in southeastern Turkey, the minister said. Since Wednesday, 129 fires in more than 30 provinces have been doused.
“We’re going through days when the heat is above 40 C (104 degrees Fahrenheit), where the winds are strong and the humidity extremely low,” Pakdemirli said. “We are struggling in such difficult circumstances.”
In Bozalan, Esra wept as she pointed to the fire near the village of Sanli.
“There’s no plane, no helicopter, no road. How’s this going to be extinguished? How?” he said.
Firetrucks, accompanied by their sirens, headed towards Bozalan, while villagers saw cows moving away from the area.
Residents were forced to evacuate the nearby village of Kokratme as the flames drew near on Sunday. Some were boarded on small boats and others were abandoned by cars as the fire gets closer and closer – scene by Ahmet Aras, mayor of a nearby resort Bodrum, described as “hell”. Precautions were taken to protect two nearby thermal power plants.
An evacuation order was also issued for the town of Turunk near the seaside resort of Marmaris in Mugla province. People fled in small boats carrying suitcases.
NS Me Said it helped mobilize firefighters from Croatia and Spain to assist Turkey. Aircraft from Ukraine, Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran are also fighting the fire. Spain said it was sending two water dump aircraft and a transport plane as well as 27 troops to help.
The EU announcement followed allegations that the Turkish government was compromising firefighting efforts by refusing help from Western countries. Pakdemirli denied this, saying that the government had only rejected proposals for aircraft that had a water dumping capacity of less than 5 tonnes. A total of 16 aircraft, 51 helicopters and over 5,000 personnel are dousing the fire, he said.
The government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has also been widely criticized for failing to purchase state-of-the-art firefighting aircraft.
In Marmaris, Mayor Mehmet Okte said fires were still burning in two places and estimated that 11,000 hectares (28,000 acres) of forest had been burned. On Monday, when police pulled out ambulance workers and journalists, the fire reached the edge of Hisaronu village, burning several houses and descending down a hill to a road.
“Our lungs have been burning for the past five days,” Okte told Haberturk television.
The health minister, Fahrettin Koca, said at least 27 people affected by the fire were still being treated in hospitals, while hundreds of others were treated and released.
Interior Minister Soylu said authorities were investigating the cause of the fire, which included human “negligence” and possible sabotage by illegal Kurdish militants. He said one person has been detained on the allegation that he may have been paid by the group to set the fire.
However, experts point to most people-caused accidents as well as climate change to be behind the fires. Erdogan has said that a fire was started by children.
A heat wave in southern Europe, fed by warm air from North Africa, has caused wildfires in the Mediterranean, including Italy and Greece, where people had to be evacuated by sea to escape the flames.
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