Latest updates: 183 fires broke out in 8 days, 16 still raging

Click to read the article in Turkish

Yesterday (August 4) marked the eighth day since forest fires broke out in Turkey, especially in southern provinces such as Antalya and Muğla.

In a statement yesterday evening, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Bekir Pakdemirli announced that 183 forest fires erupted in the country from July 28 to August 4, 2021. While 167 fires in 33 provinces have been taken under control, 16 fires are still raging in 16 provinces of Turkey.

According to the graph shared by Pakdemirli on Twitter, one of the 24 fires in Adana, two of the 21 fires in Antalya, one of the two fires in Aydın, two of the six fires in Denizli, one of the five fires in Hatay, two of the three fires in Isparta and seven of the 14 fires in Muğla are still raging.

Earlier yesterday, the Milas Municipality of Muğla announced that the fire near the Kemerköy Thermal Power Plant started again after being taken under control in the morning hours. The Municipality has tweeted, "It is the first time that the thermal power plant is under such a threat."

Milas Mayor Muhammet Tokat also said that the forest fire in Türkevleri Neighborhood in Milas is also continuing. In a video on Twitter, Tokat said that "they could not even see the chimney of the plant due to smoke."

In the evening hours, the flames have reached the thermal power plant, which has caused the evacuation of the plant as well as the people.

The Antalya Metropolitan Municipality has also announced that evacuations have begun in the Kızıldağ Neighborhood of Manavgat, adding that the related action is carried out in the entire neighborhood.

Eight people in total have lost their lives in those fires so far; while seven people died in Antalya, one person lost his life in Muğla.

Following the debates, six countries have offered aerial support to Turkey, namely Azerbaijan, Iran, Russia, Croatia, Spain and Ukraine, which have provided 18 aerial vehicles, 16 free of charge. (KÖ/SD)