3 yıl önce

All except two forest fires brought under control in Turkey

Efforts continue from land, air in Milas, Koycegiz districts in southwest, Turkey's agriculture and forestry minister says.

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Photo shows damaged forest areas in Turkey's Mugla province where hundreds of hectares of land were destroyed in the forest fires.

Turkey has brought under control all forest fires, except blazes in the Milas and Koycegiz districts of the country’s southwestern Mugla province.

“#ForestHeroes continue their work with great devotion from land and air in Milas and Koycegiz,” Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Bekir Pakdemirli said on Twitter on Monday. 

Earlier in the day, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, a native of Antalya, said 59 neighbourhoods and 3,231 buildings were affected by the flames in the southern Antalya province. 

The Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) has sent 400 living containers to the region, Cavusoglu told reporters in Antalya's Manavgat district. 

He said 207 of them were already set up and 31 others will be installed in different neighbourhoods on Monday.

He also said 93 vehicles, including 16 tractors, were also damaged due to flames. Four of the tractors were compensated, while the remaining 12 will be delivered soon, he added.

People who were engaged in animal husbandry across 43 neighborhoods have lost 11 million Turkish liras ($1.27 million), he said, adding: “According to the preference of our citizens, we will cover these losses by paying in kind and cash.”

Referring to the agricultural land affected in fires, he said olive, pomegranate, citrus, laurel, and carob orchards that burned during the fires will be replanted.

“We are working hard to cover all damage suffered by our fellow citizens, from housing to vehicles, from animals to agricultural land. … We've made necessary plans to ensure that these aids arrive on time without any disruption in the upcoming period,” he stated.

He also thanked forest workers and firefighters who came from all over Turkey and worked wholeheartedly.

The Mugla Governorship said in a statement on Monday that seven planes, 39 helicopters, two drones, 10,547 personnel, and 2,545 vehicles took part in the efforts to take the flames under control.

The statement added that regional teams of the Directorate of Forestry intervened in the forest fire that started at 1.11 p.m. local time on July 29 in the Marmaris district.

Some 38,715 people were evacuated from the region due to the fires, it said.

The treatment of 15 people out of 687 affected by the fire continues, while 672 people have been discharged from hospitals, it added.

A fire close to the Kemerkoy thermal power plant was extinguished, it noted, saying precautionary measures were taken at the power plant.

Air forces have carried out 19,140 sorties and threw a total of 75,000 tons of water into the forest fires in Mugla and Antalya on July 29 - August 7.

At least eight people have been killed, according to official figures, since fires started in southern and southwestern Turkey on July 28.