Twenty forest fires erupted in one day

Sinop (Photos: AA)

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Twenty forest fires erupted in various parts of Turkey yesterday (August 3), the General Directorate of Forestry (OGM) has announced.

Fires in the provinces of Sivas (Gemerek), Eskişehir (Tepebaşı) and Bolu (Kıbrıscık) have been extinguished and 16 fires have been taken under control while the forest fire in Sinop's Boyabat district is still continuing, according to to the OGM statement.

Maraş

"Don't forget that forest burning there are prison sentences up to life for burning forests," the directorate stated on Twitter.

In addition to the 20 incidents announced by the OGM, forest fires have erupted in several provinces —İzmir, Aydın, Manisa, Çanakkale, Uşak, Bursa and İstanbul— in western and northwestern regions of the country. Also, wildfires broke out in Şırnak and Urfa in southeastern Turkey in late July. All of these fires have been taken under control, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency.

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The Ecology Union released a statement on the recent fires, saying that authorities must take precautionary measures in summer to prevent forest fires.

Çanakkale

"Fires break out because of negligence, conflict, or, as stated often, 'unknown reasons', can spread over thousands of hectares of land with strong winds and high temperatures and our forests are left to face the danger of extinction," it stated.

Sinop

"We don't have the luxury to lose even a single tree," it said and noted that the authorities should inform the public about precautionary measures, extinguishing efforts and causes of fires. (TP/VK)