Fire alarm across the country: Fires partially under control, evacuations and detentions reported

As news of fires arrives one after another from numerous provinces across Turkey, governorates have increased their warnings against forest fires. Have the fires in Sakarya, Bilecik, Bursa, and many other provinces been brought under control? Here is the latest situation…

'LARGELY UNDER CONTROL'

Minister of Agriculture and Forestry İbrahim Yumaklı stated in a new announcement: The fire on the Sakarya-Bilecik border is largely under control, and the one in Akhisar, Manisa, is partially under control. Cooling efforts are continuing for both fires and will continue in the coming days. This does not mean the risk has disappeared. We will follow up to ensure those responsible receive the harshest penalties.

MANISA

Teams are intervening by land and air in the forest fire that broke out in the Karaköy neighborhood of Manisa's Akhisar district. The flames spread rapidly due to strong winds.

Upon notification of the fire, 2 aircraft, 4 helicopters, 10 fire trucks, 2 water tankers, and 2 bulldozers affiliated with the İzmir Regional Directorate of Forestry were dispatched to the region.

SAKARYA

Intervention continues uninterrupted for the second day in the forest fire that began yesterday at noon in Sakarya's Taraklı district and grew rapidly due to the wind, reaching the Bilecik border.

13 VILLAGES EVACUATED

Evacuations were carried out as a precaution in areas threatened by the fire. 2 villages in Sakarya and 11 in Bilecik were emptied as a precautionary measure. Minister Yumaklı stated that there were no health issues among the evacuated citizens, and those who wished were placed with relatives, while those without a place to stay were placed in state dormitories.

Upon the instruction of the Sakarya Governorate, 3 people considered to be potentially responsible for starting the fire were detained.

AYDIN UNDER CONTROL

The fire that broke out in the scrubland above the Yazıkent neighborhood in Aydın's Bozdoğan district was brought under control by the intervention of teams. 20 hectares of land were damaged in the fire.

BURSA UNDER CONTROL

In Bursa, a fire that allegedly started due to fireworks thrown in a grassy area in the Çağrışan location of Mudanya Road Street was brought under control and extinguished before it could spread to the forest area. A wedding hall in the region was evacuated as a precaution.

FIRES AT 3 POINTS IN BALIKESİR

In Balıkesir, 4 out of 7 fires that broke out across the province today have been brought under control, and efforts to extinguish the others are ongoing. Fires broke out in 7 regions across the city today, including land and forest areas. Forest fires in Dursunbey's Naipler neighborhood and Manyas's Bölceağaç neighborhood, as well as land fires in Burhaniye's Yunuslar and Karesi's Kabakdere neighborhoods, were brought under control with aerial and ground interventions by teams.

INTERVENTION RESUMED IN HAVRAN

The forest fire that broke out yesterday in the rural Halılar neighborhood of Balıkesir's Havran district was brought under control through the intense efforts of the teams. While aerial intervention was paused in the evening, aircraft were redeployed at sunrise.

While the fire was being fought from the morning hours with 5 AT 805 Air Tractor type amphibious firefighting aircraft, teams from the Regional Directorate of Forestry, Balıkesir Metropolitan Municipality, and Havran Municipality continued ground extinguishing and cooling efforts throughout the night. The northeasterly wind (poyraz) effective in the region reached speeds of 70 kilometers per hour at times, making it difficult to bring the fire under control.

While the latest situation in the fire zone was captured from the air by drone camera, the teams' cooling efforts for the fire continue uninterrupted.