At least 500 hectares of land destroyed in Çanakkale wildfire

ÇANAKKALE

Raging wildfires in several provinces, notably in the southern cities of Hatay and Mersin, have been taken under control after two days of strenuous efforts, while at least 500 hectares of land have been reduced to ashes in the fire in the northwestern city of Çanakkale.

With blazing temperatures across the country triggering wildfires, a fire broke out in the village of Kızılkeçili in Çanakkale on July 16 around 4:30 p.m., spreading over wide areas due to the influence of the wind.

Despite intensive interventions from the air and land, the fire could not be brought under control.

A night vision fire-fighting helicopter tackled the flames late on July 17. Villagers also supported the extinguishing efforts with water tankers.

Over 50 bulldozers and more than 500 personnel participated in the firefighting efforts, including reinforcement teams from the neighboring provinces of Balıkesir and Bursa.

"Due to winds reaching up to 70 kilometers per hour, the fire, which was partially brought under control, intensified once again," Agriculture and Forestry Minister İbrahim Yumaklı said.

Yumaklı stated that eight villages were affected by the fire, and three villages were evacuated.

As of July 17, the fire in Çanakkale destroyed at least 500 hectares of land.

While the fires in Mersin and Hatay, which started on July 16 and rapidly spread to wide areas due to the wind, were brought under control, the forest fires that occurred in six different locations, including Muğla, Tekirdağ and Adana, were extinguished after hours of efforts on July 17.

Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç announced that seven suspects have been identified, and two of them have been arrested in the investigations related to the forest fires that occurred between July 10 and 17.

It was also determined that the fire in the Gülnar district of Mersin was caused by children playing with fire in their backyard.