- Mass evacuations in Turkey, and Izmir now faces the danger of fires.
In the western Turkish urban center of Izmir, firefighters persistently combat a forest fire nestled on its metropolitan area's outskirts. Chaos ensued in the outer district of Karsiyaka on a Friday night, as per state broadcaster TRT, as the flames reached a ten-story residential complex and a commercial sector. Powerful winds, it seems, fueled the flames from the nearby forest, propelling them into the city.
Since the crack of dawn on Saturday, the fire no longer seems dangerous to the central residential areas of this coastal city, reassured Turkish Agriculture Minister Ibrahim Yumakli. The emergency services have been bolstered and, with the assistance of aerial operations, have managed to shield the flames.
Ever since Thursday evening, roughly 3,000 emergency personnel have been engaged in the firefight on Mount Yamanlar, the urban center's outskirts. Occasionally, the famed tourist destination was enveloped in a thick smog, reporting a dpa correspondent.
Through the course of the night, 17 houses in the Yamanlar district were reduced to ashes, and 105 residential and 44 commercial buildings were emptied. The minister estimates that around 1,600 hectares of land were devastated by the fire within Izmir alone. The fire's origin remains a mystery.
Not only Ismir is under the threat of flames. A staggering 131 fires on agricultural or forest land in cities like Aydın, Bolu, Muğla, and Manisa have erupted in the past week, according to the disaster management authority on Twitter. Close to 4,000 individuals in at least four cities and provinces were forced to flee the flames.
As per the agriculture minister, two individuals in Izmir and four in the city of Bolu have been detained. They are believed to be responsible for some of the fires. No injuries have been reported so far.
Izmir and its nearby resorts serve as popular tourist attractions. Turkey has been grappling with a heatwave and forest fires across the nation since the summer's onset. Greece, a neighboring country, has also been struck by a large-scale forest fire north of Athens.
The European Union, expressing concern over the ongoing forest fires in Turkey, has offered assistance to combat the blazes and provide aid to affected areas. Recognizing the scale of the issue, the European Commission's Emergency Response Coordination Centre has been actively monitoring the situation in Turkey, including the city of Izmir and other affected regions.
