New fire in Seferihisar: TOKİ residences evacuated as a precaution

While the forest fire that began on June 29 on the border of İzmir's Menderes and Seferihisar districts continues, a second fire has broken out in Seferihisar.

The fire, which started around 17:00 in a grassy and scrubland area in the Azmakyolu locality, was responded to rapidly. Teams from the İzmir Regional Directorate of Forestry intervened in the fire both from the air and on the ground with 6 helicopters, 10 fire trucks, and 1 water supply vehicle.

As the flames approached residential areas, the TOKİ residences located in the region were evacuated as a precaution. The fire was brought under control and extinguished as a result of the intensive efforts of the firefighting teams. Cooling operations in the region are continuing.

Speaking to an İhlas News Agency reporter regarding the fire that broke out in the Azmakyolu locality, Camikebir Neighborhood headman Ayşegül Parlak said, "The fire first started on the old road of Düzce Neighborhood, in an area close to TOKİ. The flames started from Düzce and jumped toward the TOKİ direction.

Unfortunately, we could not intervene in the fire at the beginning. Teams arrived both from the air and on the ground, but we were caught between the flames due to the effect of the wind. The firefighting teams acted very controlled at that moment. They immediately cut off the road leading to TOKİ and thus managed to stop the fire's path. Meanwhile, we evacuated TOKİ.

Currently, approximately 1,500 people live in TOKİ. Although not every household is full, the number of occupied households is quite high. We evacuated all these households. We carried out the evacuations with municipal buses, citizens' own vehicles, and with the help of search and rescue teams. There were also elderly and sick people among them; we evacuated them safely as well. There are no problems left in TOKİ at the moment," she said.

News Source: İHA