Ministry: Turkey hit by 1,171 forest fires in summer 2021

* Photo: Anadolu Agency (AA) - File

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The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has answered the Parliamentary question of Republican People's Party (CHP) İzmir MP Sevda Erdan Kılıç about the forest fires in Turkey in summer 2021.

In its answer to the main opposition MP, the Ministry has announced that 1,171 forest fires occurred in Turkey after July 28, 2021. Noting that all of these fires were put out, the Ministry has indicated that a total of 118,415 hectares of forestland were damaged in the fires.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, 11 fire-fighting personnel and two citizens lost their lives in these fires and in a plane crash.

Sharing data about the past decades as well, the Ministry has said that 165 thousand hectares of forestland were damaged in forest fires in 1945 while this number was 145 thousand hectares in 1946.

Commenting on the answer of the Ministry, CHP MP Kılıç has recalled that in addition to the razed forests, residential areas were also burned to ashes and thousands of animals lost their lives.

Reminding the public of the evacuation of thousands of domestic and foreign tourists from villages and towns by land and sea, the MP has also criticized President and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for throwing tea packages at citizens in Marmaris, one of the places severely hit by wildfires in Turkey's southern regions.

"This shows how the government struggles against forest fires, or more precisely, how it cannot struggle against disasters," the MP has protested.

Noting that the surface area of Turkey's Aegean province of İzmir is 1,189,100 hectares, MP Kılıç has said, "Last summer, our 118,415 hectares of forestland in total were razed all across the country, which accounted for one tenth of our İzmir province's surface area". (EMK/SD)