Forest fires in Antalya, Çanakkale, Manisa, Balıkesir, İzmir and Kütahya
While the forest fire that started on Monday in Antalya’s Kemer district continues, news of forest fires are coming from different cities. Forest fires broke out in Izmir, Kütahya, Çanakkale, Manisa and Balıkesir. Fires in Izmir, Çanakkale and Kütahya have been brought under control. In Manisa and Balıkesir, the fight against flames continues.
ANTALYA KEMER
Turkey continues to struggle with forest fires.
Efforts to extinguish the forest fire in Antalya’s Kemer district continue on the 4th day.
The steep and rocky Beydağı Coastal National Park, where the flames are rising, and the lack of a forest road make it difficult to work.
The growth of the flames is also influenced by “spot throwing”, that is, the splash of the burning part to a different place with the effect of wind.
Approximately 200 hectares of forest area has been damaged so far.
The intervention carried out by night-vision helicopters after dark continued with the participation of other aerial vehicles with the first light of the day.
Due to the fire in Beydağı Coastal National Park, dense smoke was formed on the hills surrounding the district.
In the morning hours in Kemer district, the air temperature was 27.8 degrees and the humidity was 35 per cent.
In the district, where the wind blew from the eastern direction at a speed of 1 kilometre per hour, the decrease in wind speed slowed the spread of the fire and facilitated the extinguishing efforts.
An unmanned aerial vehicle was also used to prevent and monitor the spread of the fire and to coordinate the participants in the extinguishing efforts.
With the images obtained from the unmanned aerial vehicle, the work of the forest personnel on the ground is directed and the areas where the air vehicles will discharge water are determined.
EXTINGUISHING EFFORTS ARE ACCELERATING WITH THE MERGING OF THE OPENED ROADS
On the first day of the fire, the steep and rocky hills where the flames rose were the biggest factor that made the extinguishing efforts difficult. Air vehicles fought intensively in areas where it was difficult to intervene by land due to topography.
Since the steep and rocky area is a national park, the lack of forest roads made it difficult for the personnel carrying out extinguishing work on the ground. Land teams are primarily carrying out road opening works in order to prevent the fire in the direction where the flames spread and for the access of land vehicles.
With the combination of the roads opened to block the flames, the extinguishing works on land are accelerating.
FLAMES WERE TRAPPED BETWEEN A SHORT VALLEY
Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Veysel Tiryaki said that the flames were squeezed between a short valley.
FOREST FIRE IN MANISA
A forest fire broke out in Çarıkbozdağ neighbourhood of Manisa’s Alaşehir district at around 10.55 pm.
The fire is being fought by 13 land vehicles, 5 water supply vehicles and 1 dozer of the Forest Management Directorate from the ground and 3 aeroplanes and 7 helicopters from the air.
While the citizens in the region also support the teams, efforts to bring the fire under control continue.
ANOTHER FIRE NEWS FROM BALIKESİR
A forest fire started in İvrindi district of Balıkesir around 12.00 pm.
5 land vehicles, 4 first response vehicles, 2 water supply vehicles, 3 aircraft, 2 helicopters and 72 personnel were dispatched to the area where the fire started.
FIRE IN ÇANAKKALE UNDER CONTROL
In Çanakkale, the forest fire that started last night in the forest area was taken under control.
A fire broke out in the forest area near Sarıbeyli village near the centre for an undetermined reason.
Upon the notification of the citizens, 35 land vehicles, 5 dozers, 8 first response vehicles, 8 water supply vehicles, 4 construction equipment and 300 personnel, fire brigades of the surrounding municipalities, as well as the TOMA (Intervention vehicle for social incidents) and fire brigade team of the Provincial Gendarmerie Command were dispatched to the region.
