Mudanya forest fire turns 20 hectares of land into ashes

BURSA

A forest fire erupted in the Aegean province of Bursa’s Mudanya district on Aug. 11, turning nearly 15-20 hectares of land into ashes, Doğan News Agency reported.

The fire erupted at around 12:00 p.m. and was brought under control nearly four hours later with the help of six helicopters, a fire fighting aircraft, and nearly 100 water trucks.

The Bursa-Mudanya highway was temporarily closed to traffic as houses in the Bademli and Göynüklu neighborhoods were evacuated.

Bursa Governor İzzettin Küçük told reporters the authorities evaluated the possibility of a cigarette butt causing the fire. “We believe a cigarette butt thrown on a road caused the fire. The information we have right now does not show sabotage as a possible cause. The exact cause will come out following the analysis that will be conducted later,” Küçük said.

“The roofs of two houses were damaged in the fire. Our team’s timely intervention prevented the fire from spreading further. We brought the flames under control in an effort that lasted three and a half hours,” the governor said.

The regional Directorate of Forestry head Yalçın Akın said they would make an effort to afforest the areas that were burned in the upcoming days.

“We have conducted very efficient work. The fire could have expanded further but we brought it under control in a short time,” said Akın.

On the other hand, the Mudanya mayor from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) said he found it “suspicious” the fire had broken out from more than a couple points simultaneously.

“We had experienced a similar incident in 2015. This will not be an opportunity for those initiating a fire for economic rent. Their expectations will be turned upside down. Let them know this,” said Hayri Türkyılmaz, pointing out the possibility of an arson attack for the initiation of a construction project.

Meanwhile, the Bursa Public Prosecutor’s Office released a written statement on Aug. 11, saying they had initiated an extensive investigation into the incident.