Hundreds more people were evacuated throughout the course of the previous night as firefighters battled a fierce forest fire in the Aegean resort city of Izmir for a third day, according to Turkish media and authorities on Saturday.
Strong winds forced helicopters and water bombers to land, but they continued to battle the fire on Saturday morning, according to the NTV news station.
Winds gusting at fifty miles per hour caused the fire to swiftly spread to residential areas when it broke out on Thursday.
According to Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya, 900 people in five damaged Izmir neighbourhoods were evacuated last night.
The third most populous city in Turkiye, the dense smoke had turned the sky grey, according to a witness who spoke to AFP. The stench of smoke lingered over the city.
Ibrahim Yumakli, the minister of agriculture and forestry, said that “two planes and eleven helicopters are currently continuing to intervene” and that city dwellers shouldn’t be “worried.”
According to the ministry, some 1,600 hectares (3,900 acres) have been impacted.
In other Turkish towns, such as Bolu in the northwest and Aydin in the west, six other fires are still raging in forested regions.
According to the Anadolu Agency, more than 300 people are actively combating fires in the Bozdogan district of Aydin, Aegean province, using 32 fire vehicles, 11 water tankers, and five bulldozers.
16 residences have already been burned by the fire in the Karsikaya area, while 87 dwellings and 45 businesses have had to be evacuated.
As the fire expanded, an animal shelter was also evacuated, and the Bayrakli and Cigli districts of the city were among the areas hit by smoke from the burning woodlands.
According to scientists, climate change increases the likelihood, duration, and intensity of severe weather events like heatwaves.
