Winds fuel wildfires in Turkish tourist areas
Several forest fires broke out in Turkey on Wednesday, with authorities working through the evening to combat them using substantial resources. Strong winds are fanning the flames, particularly in the country’s southern and western tourist areas, according to officials.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that “90 fire outbreaks” occurred in Turkey on Wednesday alone, two-thirds of which (59) were in non-forested areas. Specialized agencies managed to bring most of them (81) under control.
He added that efforts involving more than 3,000 personnel are ongoing to contain the remaining fires in Mugla, Balikesir, Antalya, and Canakkale, which are the main tourist regions in southern and western Turkey.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry reported that five aircraft, 18 helicopters, more than 90 fire trucks, and public works machinery were still operating alongside hundreds of personnel to fight a single fire in Mugla province (southwest).
Images showed mountains and roads shrouded in smoke, while firefighting aircraft crisscrossed the yellowish sky.
The Ministry of Agriculture and the General Directorate of Forestry announced early in the evening that they had “reduced the intensity” of the fires, noting that their aerial and ground teams continued working “without interruption” to extinguish the blazes.
The situation was similar for fires along the southern coast between the summer resorts of Antalya and Kas, as well as in the west around the Dardanelles Strait and in Balikesir near the Aegean Sea coast.
In the afternoon, media reported that heavy smoke led to the closure of the highway connecting the tourist city of Antalya with the famous resort area of Fethiye on the southern coast.
The private television station NTV reported the closure of the ancient site of Olympus and the suspension of visitor access.
The causes of these fires remain unclear, although Turkey had precautionarily restricted access to the most vulnerable forests at the beginning of the summer.
In Mugla province (southwest), the fire started in an agricultural area before spreading to the forest, according to local authorities in Mugla, who reported the evacuation of more than 200 people, including patients from a local hospital.
Erdogan stated that 20 aircraft, 58 helicopters, 420 fire trucks, approximately 200 tankers, heavy machinery, and nearly 1,000 trucks were deployed in firefighting operations.
