Article author:
Reuters
Istanbul — Firefighters fought wildfires from land and air on Thursday in southwestern Turkey, hoping that high temperatures and winds would fuel the flames and contain them. Authorities said they had detained a person in connection with the fire.
A scene of burning forests near Marmaris, a resort on the Aegean coast, raises fears of repeated fires last year that destroyed tens of thousands of hectares (acres) throughout the region. I did.
Reuters footage showed smoke swirling from hills and police water cannon vehicles as the flames spread over the woodlands of less populated areas.
Interior Minister Suleiman Soil said one suspect had been detained in connection with the flames that began around 8 pm. (1700 GMT) Added a person on Tuesday who admitted that he had burned the forest out of frustration due to family problems.
"There have been suspects since the incident began," Soil told reporters. "Police and Gendarme caught this person a while back. There were also two oil barrels on the scene."
Soil drunk the suspect because of a commercial disagreement with his family. He said he lit the forest while he was there.
Earlier, Forestry Minister Vahit Kirisci said he hoped to make positive progress on the fire by the end of Thursday. He said Thursday's humidity was higher than the previous day and the wind was weaker, which would help with the effort.
However, according to informal figures, the city of Mora is expected to accelerate the wind, saying that 2,881 hectares (7,119 acres) of land have been damaged so far.
On Thursday, after 45 helicopters and 12 planes paused overnight, they worked on the fire and dropped water on the flames.
Kiristi said that as a precautionary measure, 274 people were evacuated and about 2,600 were working to contain the fire. The day before, he said the fire had been contained, but the fire spread due to strong winds and heat.
Human-induced climate change makes heat waves more prone and more serious, scientists say.
Last summer's wildfires were mostly near Marmaris and were the most intense in Turkey on record. European Union atmospheric monitors added last year that the Mediterranean has become a hotspot for wildfires.
President Tayyip Erdogan's government was criticized for not being ready to fight last year's fire, especially due to a shortage of planes and helicopters. He replied that the wildfire was the worst in Turkish history.
Kemal Kılıdarır, the leader of the Republican People's Party (CHP), said Wednesday that the government was "incompetent" and had not prepared for a fire since last year. (Report by Ali Kucukgocmen, edited by Emeria Sithole-Matarise and Bernadette Baum)
