Forest fires continue ravaging forests in and around Turkey’s third-largest city, Izmir, with fire authorities now controlling the worst of the blazes. That is according to Turkiye’s Agriculture and Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli:
“There is no risk in the section overlooking the city. Firefighters have trapped the fire in a valley.” Minister Yumakli told reporters, “Thank God, this fire in the Yamanlar area of Izmir is now under control.”
New fires broke out on Saturday in the province of Izmir. One threatening the seaside resort of Cesme was also brought under control without any injuries, partly due to the prompt evacuation of residents.
“Flames continued to char steep valleys in a district some 20 kilometres (12 miles) south of Izmir, but at a slower pace,” according to Minister Yumakli, with Murat Kurum, Turkiye’s Minister for Urban Planning, confirming that at least 43 buildings have been damaged in the city. At the same time, 26 people were hospitalised with injuries related to the blaze.
Scientists say climate change makes extreme weather events, including heat waves, more likely, longer-lasting, and more intense, increasing the risk of wildfires – with the Izmir fire started on Thursday and spreading to residential areas, with winds blowing at 50 kilometres (30 miles) an hour.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported that firefighters were dispatched from several towns, and the army and police were also mobilised in the effort. Five other fires continue to rage in forest areas in other cities in Turkiye, including northwestern Bolu and Aydin in the west.
More than 30% of Turkey’s land mass is covered in forests.
Forests cover 23 million of Turkey’s 78 million hectares of land mass, varying from temperate rainforest in the northeast to maquis in the south and west – with Pine, fir, oak, and beech the most common. Almost all forests are state-owned and managed by the General Directorate of Forestry, part of the country’s Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.
In 2023, five million steres of firewood — or 23 million cubic metres of industrial wood and 29 million cubic metres of standing trees — were sold. As of 2023, wood production is the primary income from forests – in 2022, 25 million cubic metres of wood was harvested, including 9 million cubic metres of timber, 9 million cubic metres of fibre-chip wood, 5 million cubic metres of paper wood and 1 million cubic metres of industrial wood.
