Buca is burning! The moment the flames lick the bus... 64 fires in one week!

The fire, which broke out yesterday at around 16:00 near Zafer Neighborhood in Buca district of Izmir and spread to Kısık Neighborhood of Gaziemir district and was intervened from land throughout the night, continues. It was learned that the fire, which has been going on for about 15 hours, has been filling the sky with smoke and the flames are approaching residential areas.

On the other hand, firefighters who fought against the flames during the extinguishing efforts, İzmir Forestry Regional Directorate teams and 112 Emergency Call Center teams rested on the roadsides and in their vehicles. The air intervention, which was paused due to darkening, resumed in the early hours of the morning.

Minister Yumaklı: 624 fires broke out in the last week

Minister of Agriculture and Forestry İbrahim Yumaklı shared information about the fight against forest fires continuing throughout Turkey at the Forest Fire Management Center. Minister Yumaklı, who stated that the last week was very intense in combating forest fires, said, "In the 6 months of this year, a total of 3,044 fires broke out, 1,305 of which were in forest areas and 1,739 outside the forest. We intervened in these fires with the largest land and air fleet in the history of our Republic, with 25 thousand experienced forest hero brothers, and fought them. Our aircraft have made 16,035 sorties since the beginning of the summer and 52 thousand tons of water were dropped from the air alone. Approximately 624 of the fires broke out in the last week alone. In the last week, we fought fires that reached very serious dimensions in İzmir, Sakarya, Hatay, Bilecik, Manisa, İstanbul and Bursa. We saw the potential of 2021 fires in these fires. We achieved very good results in this difficult process with our interventions with the best air and land fleet and personnel in the history of the Republic. We took 621 of the 624 fires under control in the last week. Today, we are fighting 9 major fires. "We have brought 6 of them under control. Antalya, Mersin, Kırklareli, İstanbul-Silivri, Adana-Ceyhan, Uşak-Eşme fires have been brought under control," he said.

'THE ENERGY OF THE FIRE IN ÇEŞME HAS BEEN REDUCED'

Minister Yumaklı continued his statement as follows:

"As you know, an area of ​​grass and scrub in Çeşme started to burn. This spread to a very large area. Here again, our friends and of course all the other institutions and organizations there intervened in the fire with their resources. The energy of the Çeşme fire was reduced. We hope to give much better news tomorrow about this fire, whose energy has decreased for now."

'ONE OF OUR FRIENDS WAS MARTYRED, ANOTHER OF OUR FRIENDS WAS INTUBATED'

Minister Yumaklı, who stated that they received a fire report from Ödemiş at around 21:00 last night and emphasized the effect of the wind on the fire, said, "We are talking about a wind speed of up to 100 kilometers per hour. We are currently fighting the Ödemiş fire. Unfortunately, the strong wind has not slowed down. All fires, of course, bring embers to our hearts. Both for our burning green homeland and for the ecosystem that is being destroyed there. But today, unfortunately, we have lost one of our friends who plunged into these fires disregarding his life, as a martyr. Another friend is currently in the hospital intubated. We lost an 81-year-old citizen in Ödemiş. I pray to God for mercy on all of them. I would like to convey to the Turkish public on behalf of our forest hero friends not to lose their morale and that we will fight without hesitation in this defense of our homeland, as we have always done. Today, after this martyr, we will of course extinguish these fires as a duty. We will protect their legacy."

'A SPARK FROM A WELDING MACHINE CAUSED THE FIRE'

Minister Yumaklı, who noted that the fire that broke out in Buca district of Izmir was caused by welding operations in a factory, said, "In Buca, as if we had never warned or explained how dangerous it was, a spark from a welding machine in a factory spread to the garbage and from the garbage to the forest. Unfortunately, it has created images that will cause problems around residential areas. I leave it to the discretion of our public opinion. We want all our citizens to warn and intervene not only their own sensitivity but also those who show this insensitivity around them. This is a social issue. Everyone should stand shoulder to shoulder."

'DISINFORMATIONS THAT CAN MANIPULATE SOCIETY ARE TIRING US'

Yumaklı, who stated that 10 planes and 25 helicopters were used from the air to fight the forest fires in Izmir and all means were used on the ground, said, "Our friends will continue to intervene and fight for Buca and Ödemiş until the morning. This is a war, I say it again. We will win this war. I have no doubt about that. However, while our friends are fighting on the front, baseless claims and disinformation to the extent of manipulating society are tiring us out. No one has the right to demoralize our friends who are fighting in the field. This country belongs not only to those who fight, but also to those who do not. Everyone should pull themselves together. We said we would not engage in polemics. But if you allow, we also have the right to protect the morale and rights of our friends. We are only focusing on our work."

'LET'S SPEND A WEEK WITHOUT CAUSING A FIRE'

Minister Yumaklı asked for support from all citizens to combat forest fires and said, "When a fire breaks out, you intervene. But the real success is to prevent it from happening. We are spending both our lives and our resources. For what? I leave it to the public to decide. We will revive every square meter that is burned. Every burned or damaged area is afforested, revitalized, and provided with seeds and saplings by the end of the following year. There are warnings of very strong winds, excessive heat, and low humidity in the coming days. Please do not light a fire outside. Do not do whatever you are doing, even if there is a spark. If that insensitivity in Buca had not happened today, we would be giving you good news about the Ödemiş fire today. But our forces are divided, our friends are tired. We have been fighting this for 10 days. We are on alert until October 15. Let's spend this week without causing a fire outside, please."

DHA