Türkiye manifests thousands of population due to forest fires

Firefighters are fighting forest fires throughout Türkiye, amid a severe free wave in the Mediterranean region, where the authorities postponed more than 3,600 people from areas in two governorates.

The Minister of Agriculture and Forests, Ibrahim Yaqli, told reporters that firefighters have largely controlled the forest fires in the southern governorates of Mersin and Antalya, as well as the governorate of Ushak in central Turkey, but the fires in the “Bursa” province in the northwest and the northern Karaabuk governorate are still burning.

A huge fire broke out in one of the forest areas in Bursa, which includes most of the auto industry in Turkey, the day before yesterday, and part of the highway that connects Istanbul to the West Izmir city was closed for a short period due to the fire.

And video footage showed that the flames swept the trees in areas close to the houses in “Bursa”, while smoke covered the sky of the city.

Baytakly said that the authorities postponed about 1765 people in the Kestl area in Bursa, adding that 2000 firefighters are fighting the huge fire in the area with the help of six firefighters and four helicopters.

In the northern governorate of Karaabuk, where large forest fires have been ignited five days ago, Yaqli said that 1839 people were evacuated in 19 villages, adding that three planes and 16 helicopters confronted fires in the area amid difficult circumstances.

He added, “We are going through risky times, and this will not seem to end within two or three days,” referring to the heat wave.

The Turkish Meteorological Authority expected that temperatures in several areas of Turkey will reach more than 40 degrees Celsius, or between six and 12 degrees above the seasonal rates, while temperatures reached 50 degrees Celsius in southeast Turkey, the day before yesterday, for the first time in the recorded date.