All forest fires brought under control in Turkey except two: Minister

MUĞLA

Turkey has brought under control all forest fires, except blazes in Milas and Köyceğiz in the country’s south, said the minister of agriculture and forestry on Aug. 9. 

“#ForestHeroes continue their work with great devotion from land and air in Milas and Köyceğiz,” Bekir Pakdemirli said on Twitter.

Earlier in the day, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, a native of Antalya, said 59 neighborhoods and 3,231 buildings were affected by the flames in the southern Antalya province.

The Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) has sent 400 living containers to the region, he told reporters in Antalya's Manavgat district.

He said 207 of them were already set up and 31 others will be installed in different neighborhoods on Monday.

Pakdemirli also said that Greece requested a firefighting plane from Turkey.

“We are evaluating it. With the fading of forest fires in Turkey, if we can, we will provide it to Greece,” he stated.

As of yesterday, some wildfires were still burning in the Aegean provinces of Aydın, Isparta and Muğla.

Turkey on 12th day of forest fires

Started in the maquis area in Muğla’s Köyceğiz district and spread to the thick forests, the massive wildfire continues on the 12th day as firefighters battle blazes.

The flames can only be intervened from the air with two aircraft and three helicopters due to the fact that the wildfires take place in steep lands and deep canyons in the region.

Meanwhile, findings after the massive fires that raged on for days across more than half of Turkey’s southern provinces reveal the importance of firebreak, a gap in vegetation that acts as a barrier to slow or stop the progress of a wildfire.

The photos show the trees on one side of a road reduced to ash, but the other side remained green as the flames failed to bypass the safety lane.

Mustafa Karagöz, a retired forest engineer, draws attention to the fact that these firebreaks are used for transportation and that heavy vehicles could pass through these lanes to respond to the fire more easily.

“The number of these roads is extremely vital,” Karagöz said, adding that although there was no manpower to intervene in the fire in some places, the spread of the flames could be prevented by these means.

Doğan Kantarcı, a retired academic from Istanbul University, also noted that firebreaks in forest areas are critical in preventing the spread of fire.

It is expected that the firebreak practice will be implemented in all forest areas across the country by the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry in the coming period.

At least eight people and countless animals have been killed in Turkey due to the recent massive wildfires while villages and resorts had to be evacuated, with some people fleeing to beaches to be rescued by sea.