Article authors:
Reuters
Berna Suleymanoglu and Birsen Altayli
Istanbul — Firefighters have been working on a wildfire for three days on Friday in southwestern Turkey. Last year's catastrophic fire revealed a shortage of planes and personnel.
The scene of burning forests near the Aegean coastal resort Marmaris since Tuesday has caused the fear of repeated fires last year that hit approximately 140,000 hectares (345,950 acres) throughout the region. I did.
President Erdogan's government has been criticized by locals and opposition for not being ready to fight last year's fire. He replied that the wildfire was the worst in Turkish history.
Marmaris and nearby resort Bodrum officials, who experienced the worst fire last year, said the government was not well prepared this year as well.
Marmaris city council member Ali Kirli said last year's fire should have been considered a "warning flare" in preparation for this summer.
"The season of fire is approaching, but there are no planes in the air and no workers on the ground," he told Reuters before the fire broke out on Tuesday.
"You need to buy a firefighting plane and helicopter and set up a fleet of aircraft."
Marmaris Mayor Mehmet Octai has one aircraft in the area as of May. Helicopter was assigned and asked for more. Since the fire began, he has demanded that night-vision helicopters confront the flames of the night. The request was repeated by the mayor of Bodrum, Ahmet Aras.
In a written answer to Reuters' question, Arras also stated that planes needed to be deployed in the area and the fire brigade needed to be strengthened.
The government has accused Interior Minister Süleyman Soyle of opposition to spreading lies and denied blame for not being ready this year. Kirli, Oktay and Aras are all from the opposition CHP.
Forestry authorities' budget has increased 220% from last year to 2.4 billion lira ($ 138.15 million), officials say night-vision helicopters are expected to be delivered in July. I am.
Foreign support
Last year, the government used an airplane borrowed from abroad because the aircraft it normally depends on was not active due to lack of maintenance. I had to.
Forestry Minister Vahit Kiristi states that Turkey has so far declined offers from several countries, but Qatar has sent three helicopters and Azerbaijan has sent amphibious aircraft. rice field.
This year's fire damaged more than 3,400 hectares of forest. Twenty-nine people were affected by the fire and 274 were evacuated.
According to authorities, one person was arrested who admitted that he had started the fire from frustration due to family problems.
On Thursday's fire, Kiristi said "the problem was largely resolved," but strong winds were expected in the afternoon. He said 61 helicopters, 13 planes, and about 3,800 employees were working to extinguish the flames.
Last summer's wildfire was the most intense in Turkey on record, the European Union's atmospheric monitor said. According to scientists, human-induced climate change makes heat waves more prone and more serious. ($ 1 = 17.3727 liras) (Report by Berna Suleymanoglu and Birsen Altayli, Written by Ali Kucukgocmen, Edited by Kim Coghill, Daren Butler, Alison Williams)
