Minister Yumaklı: 81 fires caused by cigarette butts, 50 by picnic fires

Minister of Agriculture and Forestry İbrahim Yumaklı made statements regarding forest fires at the Istanbul Provincial Directorate of Environment and Forestry. Before the statement, Minister Yumaklı, who also monitored forest fires via the forest tracking system, received live information from officials in the regions. After the inspection, Yumaklı made statements to members of the press along with those accompanying him. Noting that humans play the biggest role in forest fires, Minister Yumaklı said, "We are currently fighting forest fires that you all watch on television, but we must face a very important reality here. It is not climate conditions that cause forest fires, but the human factor. In other words, we must all be aware of this painful reality. This is not just an observation, but unfortunately a painful picture," he stated.

"WE HAVE LOST A FOREST THE SIZE OF 2,600 FOOTBALL FIELDS"

Stating that 1,089 hectares of forest have been lost in 6 months, İbrahim Yumaklı said, "In 2025, that is, since January 1, 2025, 1,089 fires have broken out so far. Unfortunately, we have lost 1,823 hectares of our land in these 1,089 fires in Turkey. I want to underline again that what is lost here is not just trees, but all living things that live in this ecosystem. I want to say this so that we can visualize the size: we have unfortunately lost an area the size of 2,600 football fields. Almost half of these fires were caused by negligence and carelessness. There are many statistics. In some, stubble was burned, in others, garden cleaning was done and trash was set on fire there, and those spread to the forests. Many times, unfortunately, they were caused by activities that we insistently emphasize and that are carried out by bypassing those controls even when certain checks are supposed to be in place, as if it were a skill. Since October of last year, we have stated at every opportunity and on every platform. There are times when conditions are ripe for a fire, meaning very low humidity, very high wind, and extreme temperatures; while all of these tell us that we need to be more careful, we are struggling with fires caused by a spiral machine used in home repairs or door renovations," he said.

"81 FIRES CAUSED SOLELY BY CIGARETTE BUTTS"

Stating that they have forces to fight fires, Yumaklı said, "I expressed this today, and we also shared it on social media; how else can we explain this? We especially request sensitivity from all our citizens on this issue. 81 fires were caused solely by discarded cigarette butts. 50 fires were caused by picnic fires. Thank God, we have the strength and power to deal with these, but why should it happen? Why should we put the resources of this country, the green homeland of this country, in jeopardy and waste them?" he said.

"67 FIRES BROKE OUT TODAY"

Stating that 67 fires broke out today, Yumaklı said, "67 fires broke out in Turkey alone today; I am not talking about the small ones, these are very small, and 63 of them have been brought under control. Cooling efforts are currently underway. As of this hour, that is, until this press conference, we had four active fires that were continuing in practice. These are in İzmir Bornova, Kahramanmaraş, the fire on the Bilecik-Sakarya border, and Bursa Kestel. Of these, the İzmir Bornova fire has been largely brought under control, and our friends are continuing to work on cooling and preventing it from flaring up again due to the wind. Control has also been established in the Bursa Kestel and Kahramanmaraş Türkoğlu fires. Only the fire on the Bilecik-Sakarya border is continuing. Our friends are fighting selflessly. Here, a very serious team is fighting with the support of all institutions under the coordination of AFAD and our governorships, with two planes and seven helicopters. We currently have a giant fleet to extinguish fires. 27 planes, 105 helicopters, 25 thousand of our colleagues, and 14 unmanned aerial vehicles are currently scanning all of Turkey. It is possible to deal with these fires with rapid intervention, but sometimes geographical conditions can leave you in very difficult situations. Hopefully, our friends will continue to intervene in the fires throughout the night. We see on television screens today what a spark, a moment of carelessness, and a moment of negligence can cost. We, as the ministry and the forest organization, will be on alert until October 15. Our request from all our citizens is that they not only be careful themselves but also report to us quickly when there are environments around them that could cause a fire. As always, we will go very quickly and extinguish it. There is the right, the law, and the burden of 86 million people here," he said.

News Source: İHA