Sixty-five percent of last decade's forest losses in Turkey occurred in 2021 wildfires

Photo: AA/File

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Some 27,150 forest fires broke out between 2012 and 2021 in Turkey, according to figures compiled by Anadolu Agency (AA) from the General Directorate of Forestry data. These fires caused damage in 226,845 hectares of land.

The highest number of fires in this period occurred in 2013 with 3,755 and the lowest number of fires was in 2014 with 2,149.

While the number of fires in 2021 was somewhere in between, the area damaged in that year's fires was much larger than the previous nine years combined.

Some 139,503 hectares of land were damaged in 2,793 fires in the last year, which amounts to 61.5 percent of Turkey's forest losses in a decade.

A large part of these fires occurs in Antalya and Muğla on the country's Mediterranean and Aegean coasts. Fires broke out in over 500 locations and lasted 15 days with the government heavily criticized for unsuccessful response, especially for the lack of firefighting aircraft.

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How to protect Turkish pines

The Turkish pine, also known as "red pine" in Turkey, is the type of tree that is the most susceptible to fires in the country, Prof. Hüseyin Barış Tecimen of İstanbul University Faculty of Forestry told AA.

"The susceptibility of red pine forests to fire and, at the same, time their high adaptability will make them constantly exist in their own settlements," he said, however, adding that they should be surrounded with more resilient types of trees for protection.

Reducing the load of combustible materials in places where there is "human contact" and increasing the number of fire trails should be among the precautionary measures, according to the professor.

"Firefighting planes and helicopters should be acquired and various types of logistic support should be provided to be used according to the situation of the fire," he added, stressing the importance of rapid response to wildfires. (AEK/VK)