Balıkesir forests in ashes after fire in northwestern Turkey

BALIKESIR – Anadolu Agency

A thousand hectares of forested area have been destroyed in the Kepsut district of Balıkesir. AA photo

A thousand hectares of forested area have been destroyed in the Kepsut district of Balıkesir, after firefighters finally managed to bring a fire under control after three days.

The forested area in the northwestern Turkish province of Balıkesir has been on fire since the afternoon of July 30.

Fire brigades were deployed in the forest near the Tilkicik and Çaldere villages of the province’s Kepsut district, but a large section of the area was burned before the firefighters were able to stop the fire.

The fire, which started at around 3 p.m. on July 30, immediately spread due to windy weather and hot temperatures, threatening inhabited areas near settlements where locals were present.

Balıkesir Forest Directorate Hüseyin Yalçın said the smallest spark could have caused the fire to spread due to windy weather. Yalçın added that 100 pieces of construction equipment and fire brigades from other provinces had been dispatched to the area.

Firefighters are still trying to cool the burned areas, and the cause of fire has still yet to be established.