On Wednesday night, a coal-fired power plant and nearby residential areas in southwestern Turkey were evacuated because the fire came from Wildfire After arriving at the factory, a mayor and a local reporter said that at the same time, the sirens from the factory could be heard.
Muhammet Tokat, the mayor of Milas from Turkey’s main opposition party, has been warning the Kemerkoy power plant in Mugla province of the risk of fire in the past two days. He said late Wednesday that the factory was being evacuated. Local reporters said the wildfires also prompted the evacuation of the nearby Oren seaside area.
The Turkish Ministry of Defense stated that it was evacuating people at sea when the fire approached the factory. The national broadcaster TRT stated that the flames had “spread” to the factory. The strong wind made the fire unpredictable.
The authorities stated that the Kemerkoy Power Plant has taken safety precautions and its hydrogen tanks have been emptied. TRT stated that flammable and explosive materials have been removed. According to its website, this private factory uses lignite to generate electricity.
Video from the area shows bright orange, burning hills, power towers and electrical wires criss-crossing in the foreground. The pro-government news channel A Hbr conducted a live broadcast near the evacuated power plant on Wednesday night, saying that firefighters were working in the composite cooling equipment and extinguishing sparks to prevent the fire from spreading. The channel’s staff showed off a police water cannon that was burned down.
When the mayor announced the withdrawal on Twitter, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan broadcast live on A Hbr and stated that the power plant is in danger of catching fire. He said that the three ministers were there to monitor developments, adding that the planes and helicopters were there all day to put out fires.
But the mayor said that air support is rarely seen, focusing only on the flames closer to the factory, rather than addressing the wider fires in the area that have spread due to changing winds. At night, there was no air support at all, and the video showed a fire near the factory.
Wildfires have become another partisan issue in Turkey. Erdogan accused members of the opposition party of criticizing Turkey’s lack of adequate aerial firefighting capabilities and insufficient preparations for large-scale wildfires. This is “the terror of lies.” The president said that municipalities also have a responsibility to protect towns from fires. This responsibility does not only fall on the central government, but the mayors said they were not even invited to participate in crisis coordination.
For the past two days, firefighters have been working hard to protect the power plant. On Tuesday night, when other rescuers dug a trench around the Kemerkoy factory, they repelled the flames with police water cannons. Videos from neighbouring communities in Milas show trees being charred and cut down.
Extreme heat, low humidity, and strong winds have fueled the fire, which has killed eight people and countless animals in the past eight days, and destroyed forests. Villagers had to evacuate their homes and livestock, while tourists fled by boat and car. In Mugla, a coastal province where the tourist hotspot Bodrum is located, seven fires continued on Wednesday. In Antalya, at least two fires raged and two blocks had to be evacuated.
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Officials said that 167 fires have been brought under control, and 16 fires in 5 provinces are still going on. Thousands of firefighters and civilians are working hard to put out the flames.
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that another firefighting plane and its staff will arrive from Azerbaijan on Thursday morning, and 40 fire trucks will be driven to Turkey to help put out the fire. He announced that four rented firefighting aircraft have landed and two aircraft from Israel will arrive on Thursday.
Environmental protection organizations and opposition lawmakers in Turkey have also been worried that forests damaged by fires may lose their protected status.
The Turkish Parliament passed a law in July that gave the Ministry of Tourism the authority to manage all aspects of the new tourist center, approved by the President, including the use of forests and land used for “public interest”, and abolishing the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Forestry. Responsibilities. The law stipulates that these locations will be determined according to their tourist potential, taking into account the country’s natural, historical and cultural values.
Turkish officials, including Erdogan, resolutely refuted speculation that forests are facing construction dangers, and said that the burned forests are protected by the Constitution and will be reforested. Although the exact area burned in the past week is not yet known, officials have promised that the affected area will not be converted to other uses.
Environmentalists are already protesting against mining permits issued for some forests and are trying to prevent companies from cutting down trees. They held sit-ins all over Turkey.
A 2020 report by the Turkish Foundation for Soil Erosion Control shows that 58% of Turkey’s forests have obtained mining permits. It said that about 59% of Muglas have been designated as landmines, and the fires there have been raging.
“I will not be able to see the forests that will be replanted. Maybe my children will not even see them,” said Resit Yavuz, a resident of Marmaris, Mugla province. “There are no trees. There is no place where a fire can break out.”
The hot air from North Africa that has swept through southern Europe has caused wildfires throughout the Mediterranean, including in Italy and Greece. On Tuesday, the temperature in Marmaris reached an all-time high of 45.5 degrees Celsius (114 degrees Fahrenheit).
The heat wave in Turkey and Greece is expected to continue until this weekend.
© 2021 Canadian Press
