‘Everyone has been crying since yesterday morning, asking for firefighting aircraft’

* Turunç. Photo: Anadolu Agency (AA)

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One of the places struggling against forest fires in Turkey's south is the Turunç Neighborhood in Marmaris district of Muğla.

Following a brief intervention with helicopters, the forest fire has started again. No aerial vehicles have arrived in the neighborhood to join the ongoing firefighting efforts since yesterday morning (August 2).

The people of Turunç say that it is not time to ask who started the fire for what reason, underlining that their priority is to put out the fire for now.

Ali Seçkin Karayol from Turunç, who is a designer and consultant for bianet, says that there are enough fire trucks, but these vehicles cannot access the mountainous places. Noting that a group of thirty people have started working to open a road, Karayol shares the following information:

'It has started burning fiercely again'

"Yesterday, towards the morning hours, people made superhuman efforts to prevent the fires from reaching their houses, they managed to do it while the fire was just 10 meters away from their houses. Helicopters also arrived towards yesterday morning. The fire stopped for some time; but the hills from Turunç to Kumlubük and Amos are still burning now.

"Since yesterday, people have been saying, 'If helicopters come, even for once, and work for an hour, they will put out this fire.' But they have, unfortunately, not come. The hills are on fire again. Fiercely...

"On the other hand, the areas near the houses, where the fire was put out yesterday, have started burning again. The firefighting plane came four days ago and only for half an hour. Then, it left. As there was no extinguishing and cooling off the fire in the real sense of the term, the places where we saw a tiny bit of fire or smoke have started burning fiercely again.

"These are very steep, mountainous places. There is enough firefighting equipment, but no one can do anything. It is impossible to reach the mountainous region.

NOTE: The firefighting planes are small, which helps them to be more agile than their counterparts. So, they can enter the places where big planes cannot. They can carry more water than helicopters can do.

'People either on watchout or carrying water'

"The locals are helping as much as they can. For instance, a group of thirty people have started climbing the mountain, thinking that at least a way will be opened there and at least that place can be reached.

"Especially when the flames get closer to roads, people intervene. The majority of the people are on the hills now. They are either on the watchout or putting out the small fires there with barrels. The people are making great efforts. And we are making a contribution by providing ice and food. But if there are no helicopters or planes, the remaining places will burn as well.

"Firefighters have come from several places, but there is no access. As long as no planes arrive, it is impossible to access. If there are such firefighting efforts at least for an hour here, the fire will perhaps be put out.

'What matters now is to put out the fire'

"The people here have no concern with why the fire broke out or who started it. They do not care about it. For now, what matters is to put out the fire. Everyone is trying to save the places where they spent their childhood and youth. We see it in the press, they are saying, 'This or that started the fire, this or that is responsible for it.' Believe me, no one cares about it.

"What matters is to put out the fire. They are issues that will be discussed later. The biggest complaint is that there is no aerial support."

'There are people having a mental breakdown'

Ali Seçkin Karayol underlines that the people are also psychologically challenged due to the fire raging for days and the failure to put it out:

"Everyone has been crying since yesterday morning, asking, 'Where are these planes?' There are people who have a mental breakdown. Several people have been psychologically devastated. Some elders have been sedatives. We watched the burning of the mountain all night and could not do anything about it. The mountain is slowly burning before your eyes." (AÖ/SD)