Thousands evacuated

Forest fires: 17 residential buildings burnt down in Izmir

Forest fires are currently raging in Turkey (archive image).

(Bild: APA/AFP)

Almost 4000 people have been evacuated due to forest fires in Turkey. Panic broke out in Izmir late on Friday evening when the flames reached a ten-storey residential building and an industrial area. Overnight, 17 residential buildings burned down.

105 residential and 44 industrial buildings were evacuated. As of Saturday morning, the fire no longer posed a threat to the central residential areas of the coastal city, said Turkish Agriculture Minister Ibrahim Yumakli. The emergency services had been reinforced once again and had been able to contain the flames.

Here you can see a video from Izmir.

Since Thursday evening, almost 3,000 firefighters have been battling the blaze on Mount Yamanlar on the outskirts of the coastal city. Izmir and especially the nearby seaside resorts are popular vacation destinations. In the past week, fires have also broken out in agricultural and forest areas in towns such as Aydin, Bolu, Mugla and Manisa. 4000 people were brought to safety.

Six arrests
In Izmir alone, 1600 hectares of land were destroyed. The cause of the fire was initially unclear. According to the Turkish Minister of Agriculture, six people were arrested in Izmir and Bolu who could be responsible for some of the fires. There were no reports of casualties.

Turkey has been battling a heatwave and forest fires throughout the country since the beginning of the summer. In neighboring Greece, too, a huge forest fire recently raged north-east of Athens.