The forest fire that broke out yesterday morning in the district of Fethiye in the province of Muğla, on the west coast of Turkey, was finally brought under control today after burning throughout the night, thanks to the coordinated efforts of ground and air crews. Amidst the devastation caused by the fire, however, a journalist found an unexpected story of hope whilst covering the emergency, coming across a kitten just a few days old which, miraculously, survived the disaster.
The forest fire in Fethiye started in the neighbourhood of Gökçeovacık and subsequently, fuelled by the wind and the dry ground, spread to the neighbourhood of İnlice, burning down several homes. Throughout the night, firefighting efforts continued from the ground, whilst aerial resources resumed operations at dawn. Thanks to these efforts, the General Directorate of Forests announced this morning via a post on the social media platform X that the fire is now under control, according to the Turkish news agency Anatolia.
The Director-General of Forests for Turkey, Bekir Karacabey, explained in a press briefing that “the weather conditions during the fire were difficult and high-risk. “Initially, we deployed a total of 19 aircraft and 108 ground teams, comprising a total of 600 personnel,” he said, emphasising that the flames posed a particular threat to the İnlice neighbourhood, which is why efforts were concentrated there to ensure the safety of the population and prevent damage to residential areas.
“At around 23:40 (yesterday) we announced that the fire was largely under control. Thanks to the selfless efforts of our ground crews throughout the night, we can now state with great satisfaction that we have managed to bring the fire under control. Approximately 280 hectares of woodland were affected, according to precise measurements and assessments. Unfortunately, along with the trees, many living creatures were also affected. The only consolation is that, fortunately, none of our citizens found themselves in a life-threatening situation,” said Karacabey.
A kitten miraculously survived the flames
The scorched areas were filmed from the air, showing how vast green areas were reduced to ashes, leaving a grey and black landscape. However, amidst this enormous destruction, a journalist covering the wildfire came across a surprise when he heard the faint cries of an animal that seemed to come from a small cat.
As reported by local media, a reporter from the İhlas (İHA) news agency, who was reporting from the garden of a house completely engulfed by flames, heard what sounded like a faint meow whilst working and realised it was coming from a stone wall; upon investigating, he discovered that the small animal was tucked away amongst the rocks of the wall adjacent to the garden.
Together with his colleague, the journalist located a kitten hidden amongst the cemented stones of the wall; after rescuing it using a metal crowbar, they established that the kitten was approximately between 10 and 15 days old. Initially, the team gave it water using what little they had to hand, and later handed it over to a vet who was treating animals affected by the fire. A true story of survival which, despite the enormous destruction caused by the forest fire in Fethiye, can be considered a genuine miracle.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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