A fire that broke out late yesterday in the Turkish province of Izmir, on the Aegean coast, reached the motorway between Izmir and Çanakkale causing moments of panic among drivers, who saw the flames approaching their vehicles while visibility was considerably reduced due to heavy smoke.
Turkish media reported that the wildfire broke out late Sunday in a grassy area in Mersinlik, located between the neighbourhoods of Hacı Ömerli and Çaltılıdere in the district of Aliağa, north of the Foça coast and where another major fire broke out only a few days ago. The flames, fanned by the wind, spread rapidly and reached the motorway between Çanakkale and Izmir, where the proximity of the fire and the dense smoke caused moments of danger for drivers, who had only a few metres of visibility.
After the emergency services were alerted, teams from the Izmir Provincial Forestry Directorate, the fire department of the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality and the municipality of Aliağa were sent to the area, and attacking the flames by land and air finally managed to bring the fire under control after about three hours, despite strong gusts of wind in the region.
Due to the wildfire, traffic on the section of the motorway close to the fire was temporarily diverted for safety reasons. However, while work continued this morning to extinguish the flames and cool the area, the motorway was reopened to traffic.
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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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