Nearly 4,000 people were evacuated in Turkey due to forest fires. Panic broke out in Izmir late on Friday night when flames reached a ten-story residential building and an industrial area. 17 houses burned down overnight.
105 residential buildings and 44 commercial buildings were evacuated. As of Saturday morning, the fire no longer posed a threat to the coastal city’s central residential areas, Turkish Agriculture Minister Ibrahim Yumakli said. Emergency services were reinforced and were able to contain the flames.
Here you can see a video of Izmir.
Since Thursday evening, almost 3,000 emergency services have been battling the fire on Mount Yamanlar on the edge of the coastal city. Izmir and especially the nearby seaside resorts are popular holiday destinations. Last week, fires also broke out in agricultural or forest areas in cities such as Aydin, Bolu, Mugla and Manisa. 4,000 people were brought to safety.
Six arrests
In Izmir alone, 1,600 hectares of land were destroyed. The cause of the fire was initially unclear. According to the Turkish Minister of Agriculture, six people have been arrested in Izmir and Bolu who may be responsible for some of the fires. There were no reports of injuries.
Turkey has been battling a heat wave and wildfires across the country since the beginning of summer. A huge forest fire recently raged northeast of Athens in neighboring Greece.
Source: Krone
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