Antalya Governor Şahin: Aksu fire continues, Kumluca fire's intensity reduced

Efforts to extinguish the fire that broke out around 16:00 yesterday in the Karaöz neighborhood of Aksu district are continuing. While teams are fighting the flames with great dedication, the flames flared up again this evening in the Yeşilkaraman neighborhood, which had previously been extinguished, due to a change in wind direction.

As teams intervened with all their might to bring the rapidly advancing flames under control, there were difficult moments. The Yeşilkaraman neighborhood, where the teams were coordinated, was completely evacuated due to the flames reaching the Antalya-Isparta road. While there was great panic in the region, some citizens could not hold back their tears.

Antalya Governor Hulusi Şahin, who inspected the Yeşilkaraman neighborhood, which was engulfed in flames and where some houses were damaged, said, "The forest fire that started at this time yesterday accelerated again a few hours ago due to the wind. It broke through the barriers built by our forestry organization in several places and spread into both our Karaöz and Yeşilkaraman neighborhoods, threatening the houses, greenhouses, and animal barns here. Our colleagues made an intense effort and saved the other houses, except for a few that were damaged in the first stage."

"There is a slight easing in the wind, which is to our advantage"

Stating that the flames threatened many houses in the Yeşilkaraman neighborhood, especially the Gendarmerie Station, Governor Şahin said, "What was sensitive here was that it threatened the gendarmerie station. That is why we are in its garden, but with the measures taken by our colleagues, we saved both the station and most of the other buildings. There is some loss, and there are a few dead animals. We will carry out damage assessments after the fire is over. The Aksu fire continues, but the threat to residential areas has been significantly reduced as of now. Our colleagues are fighting it, and there is a slight easing in the wind. This is to our advantage; we will use this to continue the fight from the air until it gets dark, and from the ground until morning after it gets dark," he said.

Stating that some neighborhoods were evacuated but citizens returned after the danger passed, Şahin said, "Of course, we evacuate neighborhoods at certain intervals, but at the same time, the citizen returns when the threat disappears. Our colleagues will provide the figures for this, but the numbers are constantly changing. We evacuate when we see a threat in some places. In some places, citizens can return to their homes when the threat is removed. As of now, there is no such problem," he said.

"The intensity of the Kumluca fire has been reduced"

Stating that the intensity of the fire that started in the Kumluca district around noon has been reduced, Şahin said, "In the meantime, a large fire also started in Kumluca around noon. That fire is also continuing, but its intensity has been reduced. As of now, it does not threaten residential areas. The fight continues from the air and on the ground. We are in constant contact with our Minister of Agriculture and Forestry and our Minister of Interior. Our teams continue to work both from the air and on the ground," he said.

Saying that small-scale fires broke out in a few other districts, Governor Şahin stated, "It happened in Serik, and the fire in our Aksu district has exceeded 24 hours and is continuing. It continues in the neighborhoods of our Aksu district. In addition, a fire broke out in Kumluca this morning. It is also continuing, but we have largely reduced its power and intensity," he said.