Minister Yumaklı provides latest updates on wildfires: 3 major fires continue

Making a statement to members of the press regarding the wildfires across the country, Minister Yumaklı provided striking figures and warned citizens to be more careful.

Stating that 1,459 fires have broken out in just one month, Yumaklı used the following expressions in his statement:

"There were 77 fires in our country today; 53 of these were outside forest areas. I do not want to distinguish between forest and non-forest, but I would like to state that we are in a comprehensive struggle against fires. 9 of these fires were major, and currently, 3 fires are continuing in İzmir... these are serious. There was a very strong wind in İzmir; the fire in Menderes Kuyucak is right next to the forest...

The fire in Gaziemir started from a fire lit in a factory garden...

When our friends distribute their forces to these places, fighting the fire becomes difficult. Six fires have been extinguished, and efforts are underway to extinguish the remaining fires.

Our intervention in the fire will continue with AFAD, Gendarmerie, police, and fire department teams; our struggle will continue until morning....

It is said that the wind will blow hard throughout the night in Doğanbey and Kuyucak. Our friends are on alert; so far, 4 villages and two neighborhoods have been evacuated. If there are places that need to be evacuated in the coming hours, we will evacuate them as well; we do not see a need for it at the moment.

So far, 3 of our citizens have been affected by smoke; they have no health risks.

We have intervened in 1,459 fires since June 1. Our aerial vehicles have dropped tons of water on these fires. The frequency of fires starting from non-forest areas has increased; we are conducting our analyses regarding this. 

258 fires started from stubble burning

126 fires started from cigarette butts 

26 fires started from garbage dumps...

Only 4 started from the lighting of fireworks. It is high time we abandoned these habits. Starting a forest fire is a crime, and there are heavy sanctions for it.

Let us not say 'nothing will happen'; it does! Let us call on our citizens: do not light fires in open areas. Not just one person, but as all citizens, every single member of Turkey must protect even an inch of our country's land.

The issue of climate change continues to affect us in every field. We ask for sensitivity from our citizens regarding this. 

Our friends are in the fire areas and continue their interventions; hopefully, we will extinguish the remaining fires as soon as possible. We are running selflessly to extinguish the fires.

Please do not pay attention to statements other than our own... 

News Source: 12punto