The forest fire that started yesterday at 17:03 (18:03 Baku time) in the Milas district of Muğla province, Turkey, is still ongoing.
Medianews.az reports that due to the fire approaching residential areas and tourist facilities, 350 hotels and 770 recreation complexes have been evacuated. In total, 1120 tourists and local residents have been relocated to safe areas.
Muğla governor İdris Akbıyık stated that firefighting efforts continue non-stop in the Gürçamlar–Bozbük direction. According to him, all necessary measures have been taken to ensure people’s safety, and the evacuation was carried out in a controlled manner.
During the daytime, 12 helicopters and 8 airplanes were engaged in fighting the fire from the air. At night, a personnel of 517 continue firefighting operations on the ground.
The operation also involves 62 fire trucks, 29 water tankers, 11 bulldozers, 3 excavators, 6 initial intervention vehicles, 4 TOMA (riot control vehicles), 4 emergency medical vehicles, and other special equipment.
The governor mentioned that the cause of the fire has not been determined yet and that gendarmerie officers have started an investigation into the incident.
Authorized bodies stated that high temperatures, low humidity, and strong winds complicate the extinguishing of the fire, and work to bring the fire under control continues without interruption.
