Forest fires in Bodrum, Manavgat contained

MUĞLA / ANTALYA

Firefighter squads have succeeded in containing two forest fires threatening residential areas in southwestern Muğla and Mediterranean Antalya provinces.

The fire in Muğla’s resort town of Bodrum erupted at around 2:15 a.m. and was contained after five hours of firefighting efforts, the General Directorate of Forestry said in a statement late on Aug. 7.

“During the first response to the fire, Bayır neighborhood was evacuated by an order from the governorship of Muğla as a precautionary measure. The spread of the blaze towards Bayır neighborhood was prevented with an intense struggle,” said the statement.

No casualties were reported, but a forestland of 50 hectares was damaged, it said.

A forestland of 30 hectares was also damaged in another forest fire, which broke out late on Aug. 7 in Antalya’s Manavgat district.

“Twenty-one sprinklers, four excavators, four water tanks, seven first-response vehicles, 12 technical personnel and 105 firefighters were involved in the response to the fire,” said Vedat Dikici, head of the regional forest directorate.

An olive grove was damaged by the blaze, which was totally controlled early in the morning on Aug. 8.

“The flames were stopped some 600 meters away from my home. If there wasn’t a proper response, they could have spread to houses,” said Süleyman Kiraz, a local in the neighborhood.

Meanwhile, 19 smaller forest fires and 14 countryside blazes broke out across Turkey on Aug. 7, according to the General Directorate of Forestry.

“There was no loss of life or property. We express our sole sadness on the loss of plants and wildlife on the burned up lands,” it said.

The directorate called on citizens to be more aware towards fires and call the hotline 177 immediately in case of a blaze.