After Spain and France: Large-scale forest fires hit Turkey
Turkish firefighting teams, supported by aircraft, continue efforts to control forest fires in the country's southwest. Authorities have ordered the evacuation of homes and a hospital, and closed a major highway.
Turkish firefighting teams, supported by aircraft and helicopters, continue their vigorous efforts to bring under control the extensive forest fires that broke out in the southwest of the country, it was reported on Wednesday. Beyond reinforcing the firefighting teams, Turkey has ordered the evacuation of homes and a hospital, as well as the blocking of one of the central traffic arteries.
Fire in Muğla Seydikemer
According to reports in the Turkish media citing the authorities, the fire broke out in an agricultural area near Antalya and the Greek island of Rhodes. Five aircraft and 12 helicopters are participating in the firefighting operations, alongside 35 water tankers, 8 first-response vehicles, 22 towed tanks, 14 tractors, 44 service vehicles, and two ambulances, in addition to 373 firefighters and crew members.
These fires come at a time when Turkey is dealing with a challenging summer season accompanied by increasing heat waves and drought – conditions that lead every year to forest fires in a number of provinces along the Mediterranean and Aegean coasts. The authorities in Turkey have not yet announced full control over the fires or any casualties, while situation assessments on the ground continue, and the firefighting teams continue their efforts to prevent the spread of the fire to residential areas or vital facilities, under the continuous monitoring of local authorities and civil defense.
Forest fires broke out in 7 provinces in Turkey today:
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Çanakkale, Ayvacık
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Kütahya, Domaniç
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Balıkesir, Gömeç
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Balıkesir, Altınoluk
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Muğla, Seydikemer
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Antalya, Kumluca
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Aydın, Nazilli
Meanwhile, in Spain and France, they continue to struggle with the fires that have been plaguing the countries for almost a week. While the Prime Minister of Spain said that the situation is developing "positively" and that the intensity of the fire in the Madrid area has decreased, in France they are still cautious. Local authorities claimed that the area hit hardest is still "not secure" following additional flare-ups, and residents were asked to wear masks due to toxic smoke.
