Hatay Governor's statement on the fire: We have evacuated 200 households

Upon notification, the Regional Directorate of Forestry and Metropolitan Municipality fire crews, along with 4 firefighting helicopters and approximately 450 vehicles, including water tenders, were dispatched to the region.

Crews took precautions in the surrounding area against the possibility of the fire, which broke out near residential areas, spreading.

In the fire, where nearly 60 households in different locations were damaged, damage also occurred in the cemetery in Karaali Neighborhood.

The operations of the helicopters, which intervened in the flames throughout the day, were suspended until tomorrow morning due to darkness.

Ground intervention by the crews continues.

"THE FIRE IS CHANGING DIRECTION IN PLACES"

Hatay Governor Mustafa Masatlı, who went to the region, inspected the extinguishing efforts and received information from the teams.

Following his inspection, Masatlı told reporters that the fire, which started in the forested area in Karaali Neighborhood around 10:30, had spread to the Oğlakören and Üçgedik neighborhoods.

Explaining that the wind is negatively affecting the extinguishing efforts, Masatlı said:

"Due to the very strong and erratic movements of the wind, the fire is changing direction in places. In this respect, we are having serious difficulties. The speed of the wind sometimes drops to 12-15 kilometers per hour, but in some places, it rises to 35-40 kilometers. Therefore, with this erratic movement of the wind, the course of the fire also changes. We are currently in the Alahan region. Our friends are trying to intervene from the ground and get ahead of the fire. Hopefully, we will continue our work until morning. We estimate that the intensity of the wind will decrease a little more, especially towards morning."

"WE HAVE EVACUATED 200 HOUSEHOLDS"

Reminding that aerial vehicles have suspended extinguishing activities due to darkness, Masatlı noted the following:

"We are continuing our work from the ground. Currently, more than 450 of our vehicles and more than 1250 of our employees and personnel are on duty in the field. We will be in the field on a 24-hour basis until we extinguish the fire. The most important thing here is that there is no loss of life. Regarding this, we have carried out evacuations in our Karaali, Oğlakören, and Üçgedik neighborhoods. As of now, we have evacuated 200 households. We are housing these citizens in our dormitories. We are also meeting their needs on this occasion."

Upon a reporter's question regarding the cause of the fire, Masatlı stated, "Of course, this is a technical matter. Both our police department and our gendarmerie command are working on this. After the necessary technical examination is completed, we will share this with the public as well."

News Source: AA