Fire in southern Turkey ongoing for more than 24 hours

ANTALYA – Anadolu Agency

DHA Photo

The forest fire that started in Turkey’s southern province of Antalya at noon on Sept. 5, has still yet to be put out.

The fire started simultaneously at two different points in Antalya’s Kumluca district at around 14:30 on Sept. 5, and has so far resulted in an area of around 170 hectares being burnt.

Antalya’s Forest Regional Deputy Manager Aydoğan Türedi said the strong wind that started to blow in the afternoon had revived the fire.

“The wind has started to blow stronger. This makes the situation more difficult. I may say that the danger is continuing,” Türedi said.

Antalya’s Forest Regional Manager Ali Gökçol said they had been unable to define the reason of the fire and hoped to bring it under control as soon as possible.

“The place where the fire broke is a calabrian pine high forest and because it is an area of rejuvenation, our teams have found it hard to bring it under control. Additionally, the change of wind from time to time, as well as the graded and mountainous structure of the land makes it hard to put the fire out,” Gökçol said.

Some 50 fire brigades, 70 sprinklers and water tanks, five planes, nine helicopters, 12 bulldozers and around 300 workers are engaged in fighting the fire. Gökçol said the fire brigades came not only from Antalya, but also from Afyonkarahisar, Eskişehir, Kütahya, Adapazarı, Bolu, Muğla, Denizli, and Isparta.