Wall English

The fire in the forest area in Yamanlar Mountain in the Karşıyaka district of the Aegean province of Izmir has been raging for the second day since August 17.

Agriculture and Forestry Minister İbrahim Yumaklı said the cause of the forest fire was a fire set by three people during a picnic. He reported that 17 houses were burned down and 105 houses and 44 shops were evacuated.

As the forest fire approached the other residential areas, the roof of a ten-story residential building also burned down.

According to the Interior Ministry, a total of 900 people were evacuated in Izmir by midday on August 17. The Izmir Metropolitan Municipality said that residents affected by the fires were accommodated in a nearby sports complex during the night.

Previously, the Ministry of Health reported on August 17 that 78 people had been affected by the fires and 29 of them were still being treated in hospitals.

On the morning of August 17, Forestry Minister Yumaklı stated that the fire no longer posed a threat to urban areas. Turkish authorities are trying to arrest three people believed to be responsible for the fire.

At least 72 forest fires in one day

Yumaklı noted that a total of 72 fires broke out in forest and rural areas within one day and 69 of them had been brought under control by the morning of August 17.

Throughout the night, firefighting teams and municipal workers fought forest fires in Didim and Bozdoğan districts of Aydın, Ödemiş district of İzmir, Milas district of Muğla and Ovacık district of Karabük.

The individual forest fires have been burning for three days in Bolu province and for four days in Manisa province.

In the Gördes district of Manisa province, the Karayakup neighborhood with 20 houses and the Yeniköy neighborhood with 57 houses were evacuated yesterday. All the houses in the Karayakup neighborhood burned down and became uninhabitable. In the Salihli district, five neighborhoods were evacuated and some houses were affected by the fire.

Minister Yumaklı stated that two children started the fire in Ödemiş district while smoking on a lawn. They were arrested. Four people were also arrested in connection with the fire in Bolu.

According to the Forestry Ministry, a total of 1,600 hectares were affected by the fires.

The Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said 3,583 people were evacuated as a precautionary measure amid forest fires in Izmir, Aydın, Bolu, Muğla and Manisa provinces.

According to NASA’s Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS) data, 941 hectares in Izmir, 1,498 hectares in Manisa and 2,580 hectares in Bolu were affected by forest fires.

The Forestry Ministry stressed that caution is required, especially until August 18, due to low humidity, high temperatures and strong winds, and said the alert status would last until September 15.