- Multitudes of emergency responders battling forest blazes in proximity to Izmir.
Close to the well-known Turkish beach city of Izmir, amidst holiday-goers, about 3,000 workers are fighting powerful winds to control a forest fire. Roughly 900 individuals have been evacuated from two affected zones, as per the Turkish news agency Anadolu, citing Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya.
The fire department is present with five firefighting airplanes, 15 helicopters, bulldozers, and other heavy machinery. A spokesperson for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated that around 2,965 personnel with roughly 600 vehicles are on the scene in Izmir province on the Aegean coast. The fire initiated on Thursday evening north of Izmir from an undisclosed source.
In the northern commercial zone of Karsiyaka, flames affected 30 businesses, as disclosed by Mayor Cemil Tugay on the X platform. A ten-story residential building also ignited, with footage from the national broadcaster TRT displaying the building's roof blazing. Strong winds carried the flames from the neighboring forest into the city, posing challenges for firefighters to extinguish the fire as portions of the roof collapsed onto parked vehicles.
Previously, multiple houses in other residential areas had gone up in flames, according to Izmir Governor Süleyman Elban. At least one village had to be evacuated. No injuries have been reported.
On Friday, the metropolitan city of Izmir was shrouded in dense smoke, as per a dpa correspondent. The third-largest city in Turkey and its surrounding coastal resorts are renowned tourist destinations.
Due to powerful winds reaching up to 80 kilometers per hour, aerial firefighting tasks in the Karsiyaka area had to be briefly suspended, according to Anadolu.
Turkey has been dealing with heatwaves and forest fires throughout the country since the start of summer. As per TRT, there were forest fires in at least six cities and provinces on Friday, including the western cities of Canakkale, Manisa, and Bolu. Neighboring Greece has also been battling a significant forest fire north of Athens.
The following evacuation orders were issued due to the spreading forest fire in Izmir: two zones impacted roughly 900 individuals. The following statement was made by a spokesperson for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan regarding the firefighting efforts: approximately 2,965 personnel and 600 vehicles are present in Izmir province.
