The wave of wildfires in Turkey is active again and in the last few hours the fires have been raging in several central and western provinces of the country, including Manisa, Konya, Bolu, Bursa, Kocaeli, Çanakkale and Tekirdağ, but so far firefighting teams have not been able to control the flames on these last two fronts.
According to NTV channel, in the last 24 hours several forest fires have broken out in different locations in the provinces of Tekirdağ, Çanakkale, Manisa, Kocaeli, Bursa, Bolu and Konya; of particular concern is the active wildfire in the district of Şarköy in Tekirdağ, a province of the Turkish region of Thrace, which spread overnight to the district of Gelibolu on the European side of the province of Çanakkale, and which according to initial indications may have originated from power lines in a non-forest area, spreading rapidly from there to a forest area. Firefighting crews here are battling the fire but also temperatures of 32 degrees and winds close to 50 km/h.
Turkish authorities reported that the flames spread driven by wind and dry terrain threatening the villages of Şenköy, Kocaali and Kızılcaterzi, so the Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (AFAD) organised evacuations of the population. “Intense ground efforts have been carried out and have continued through the night and have also continued by air since dawn this morning; currently 15 aircraft, 19 helicopters, 76 water trucks and 509 units have been dispatched to the region,” an official statement said.
In Çanakkale, the motorway connecting Çanakkale and Malkara (Tekirdağ) had to be closed to traffic as the Şarköy fire that spread to Gelibolu (Gallipoli) approached the road, forcing local authorities to close the road to drivers at the height of Kavakköy due to the danger posed by the fire. “Since the fire in Şarköy, Tekirdağ, is affecting parts (of the highway) in the direction of Kavakköy (Gallipoli), traffic is being temporarily diverted to alternative routes,” Çanakkale governor Ömer Toraman said on social media.
Despite this worrying situation in the area around the Dardanelles Strait, however, there is good news from other areas of Turkey where fires broke out in the last few hours. The wildfire that broke out yesterday in the Ayvacık district of Çanakkale is now under control, according to Turkish media reports, while the fire that started on Monday in the Doğanhisar district of Konya province has also been brought under control, with work continuing to cool the ground. Two other forest fires that broke out yesterday in Apak and Seyitoba, two villages in the Saruhanlı district of Manisa, are also under control, while fires in the provinces of Kocaeli, Bolu and Bursa have also been stopped.
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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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