Turkey contains 110 'spreading' fires .. Flames recede around Madrid

Washington – Agencies: Turkish firefighters continued battling forest fires in popular tourist areas in Turkey, including Antalya and the Dardanelles, according to authorities. Turkish emergency teams responded to 115 fires, “110 of which have been fully brought under control,” Agriculture and Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli announced yesterday. The minister, speaking from the forest fire coordination center in the capital Ankara, clarified that of the total fires addressed on Wednesday, 69 were outside forested areas. Mugla province announced that a new fire broke out “around 2 a.m.” in the Fethiye area, a renowned coastal resort featuring a marina for luxury yachts. The fire spread due to strong winds, but firefighting teams intervened immediately. In Greece, approximately 8,000 people were evacuated from the island of Crete due to a fire fueled by strong winds that threatened a coastal resort, according to the deputy governor of the Rethymno region yesterday. Greek authorities arrested four individuals, including the mayor and deputy mayor of the island of Paros, as part of an investigation into a fire that broke out on Tuesday afternoon at a waste dump on the tourist island in the Cyclades archipelago. Meanwhile, Spanish authorities announced yesterday that forest fires threatening the Madrid region had stopped spreading, with almost no active flames remaining. The Madrid regional directorate stated that “nighttime weather conditions allowed... a reduction in temperatures... the situation has stabilized, and the area affected by fires has not expanded for several days, with only a few remaining hotspots emitting smoke and almost no active flames.” The directorate added that “no active fire fronts remain,” noting that about 1,000 evacuated residents have not yet returned home.