A large wildfire that broke out in the last few hours near the city of Çanakkale, on Turkey‘s northwest coast, has forced the temporary closure of maritime traffic in the Dardanelles Strait, a vital passage linking the Mediterranean with the Black Sea. Nearly 2,700 firefighters supported by eight aircraft and 26 helicopters have been deployed in the area to fight the fire, which has forced the evacuation of nearly 1,300 residents.
So far, the wildfire has burned about 1,500 hectares of land, of which at least 800 hectares are densely populated forest. The fire has been fuelled by weather conditions, fanned by winds of up to 70 km/h and humidity levels below 20%. “The good news is that the wind seems to be blowing the flames away from the city centre of Çanakkale,” Turkish Agriculture and Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumaklı told TV.
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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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