Minister Yumaklı announces: 150 forest fires in 2 days

Minister of Agriculture and Forestry İbrahim Yumaklı stated, "The number of fires that have broken out in our country in the last 2 days is 150. Just 83 of these occurred today. There are currently 8 active fires in our country, but 4 of them have been partially brought under control."

Speaking to reporters in the region where the fire continues in Bilecik, Yumaklı said that the fire that started in the Taraklı district of Sakarya spread to the Bilecik side, causing the Gölpazarı district to be very heavily affected by the fire.

Recalling that he informed members of the press about the fires in Sakarya at 16:00, Yumaklı said, "After those statements, unfortunately, forest fires continued to break out in different parts of Turkey. The number of fires that have broken out in our country in the last 2 days is 150. Just 83 of these occurred today. There are currently 8 active fires in our country, but 4 of them have been partially brought under control. Our teams are continuing cooling efforts."

Stating that the forest fires in the Taraklı and Gölpazarı districts, as well as the Akhisar district of Manisa, are of serious proportions, Yumaklı continued:

"After I spoke with you, another fire broke out in Göynük, Bolu, and another fire broke out in Osmaneli, Bilecik. All 4 of these fires currently remain serious. Our teams are continuing their intervention very intensively. However, our teams' intervention and extinguishing efforts will continue tonight as well. As I mentioned at the beginning, the fires in Havran, Balıkesir; Nurdağı, Gaziantep; Pazarcık, Kahramanmaraş; and Finike, Antalya have been partially brought under control."

"16 SETTLEMENTS EVACUATED"

Emphasizing that despite the intervention 7 minutes after the fire on the Sakarya-Bilecik border started, it spread violently, Yumaklı said, "It has spread over a very large area. Of course, we will provide the exact figures after the fires are completely extinguished, but we are talking about an area of approximately 35 square kilometers."

Stating that 1 aircraft, 16 helicopters, 174 water tenders, and over 1,000 personnel are on duty in the region, Yumaklı noted the following:

"There is a tendency for the fire to move towards the east. Our teams are currently making an intense effort to contain this area. Due to this fire, 16 settlements—these are small and large villages—have been evacuated, 2 in Sakarya and 14 in Bilecik. Among these, only one citizen was injured in the fire in Osmaneli, Bilecik, and was referred to the hospital. Other than that, there are no injuries or health problems among our workers or citizens."

Providing information that work regarding the cause of the fire is ongoing, Yumaklı said, "3 people have been detained on the Sakarya side. Our law enforcement forces are continuing their investigations into the cause of the fire that occurred in Osmaneli, Bilecik."