Wildfire in Muğla under control
Wildfire in Muğla under control
25 August 2008
published by www.todayszaman.com
Turkey — A wildfire that had destroyed about 150 hectares of forest as of yesterday in the western Anatolia province of Muğla was contained Sunday afternoon following efforts by Muğla firefighting teams and those from neighboring provinces, such as Aydın, Denizli, İzmir, Isparta and Manisa.
Muğla Regional Forestry Directorate head İbrahim Aydın talked to the Anatolia news agency on Sunday, saying that the rough terrain in the village of Özlüce and its surroundings had hindered efforts to control the blaze.
Aydın said the firefighting teams have been fighting the wildfire nonstop. We have fought the fire from both land and air this morning and more than 20 fire trucks contributed to this struggle by using the paths created by bulldozers. Fortunately the fire has been controlled after these intense efforts, he noted.
Aydın reiterated that the hilly terrain of the area, which has been burning since Saturday, made their job very difficult. The situation is still risky due to the rough terrain, so the fire may still spread. We are trying to bring the fire under complete control before dark, he stated.
A total of 400 villagers also contributed to the firefighting efforts, along with seven helicopters, 90 fire trucks and 850 firefighters. Meanwhile, one of the fire trucks was destroyed by the fire but firefighters on it were able to escape after Aydın warned them from his helicopter before the fire reached them. Some of the firefighters did suffer from smoke inhalation and they were treated in an ambulance at the Yılanlı Forest Directorate in Muğla.
