25 Aug Firefighters contain north-western Turkey wildfires
Firefighters have managed to take control of the wildfires that erupted in north-western Turkey over the previous week.
“The fire was brought under control within 48 hours under the coordination of the forestry department and AFAD (Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency),” said Ibrahim Yumakli, Turkey’s minister of Agriculture and Forestry.
Yumalki reported on the damage done by the fire, commenting that the fire had claimed no lives.
While seven people were injured, none of the injuries taken were life-threatening. Nearly 4,080 hectares (about 10,080 acres) of land were affected by the fire, including about 2,650 hectares of forest and 1,430 hectares of agricultural land and other areas, Yumakli underlined.
He said the fire teams responded to the blaze with 10 planes, 38 helicopters and 790 land vehicles, adding that a total of 3,774 personnel were in the field. Turkey continues to struggle with ongoing wildfires, as part of the summer season. On Tuesday of this week, fires broke out in the central province of Eskisehir.
Authorities continue to investigate the potential causes of these fires. Recently on Fire Middle East, we studied the relationship between invasive grass species and wildfires.
Fire Middle East will continue to report on wildfires in Turkey as they develop.