Navy ships haul water tenders to Marmaris

MUĞLA

Billowing smoke rises from behind a tree-covered mountain range, filling the sky.

Military landing ships transported water tenders to an inaccessible coast in the southwestern province of Muğla to battle a forest fire while crews controlled separate blazes in three western provinces.

The fire erupted in Marmaris’ Yalancıboğaz area and spread to woodlands on Aug. 15. Agriculture and Forestry Minister İbrahim Yumaklı said authorities launched an inter-agency operation to reach the rough terrain.

“Water tenders and our forest heroes are dispatched directly to the fire zone via landing ships belonging to the Aksaz Naval Base Command,” he said.

Daytime efforts involved seven planes and 17 helicopters, transitioning to a sea-supported nighttime operation deploying 46 water tenders, Yumaklı said. He thanked the Defense Ministry and Naval Forces Command.

Muğla Governor İdris Akbıyık said the fire lost energy in three sections but persists in a steep area hampered by wind, requiring three night-vision helicopters.

Firefighters controlled flames in the western provinces of Balıkesir, Manisa and İzmir. In Balıkesir, crews deployed eight planes, nine helicopters, 33 water tenders, 11 water supply vehicles, eight construction machines and 140 personnel to tame fires in Sındırgı’s Taşköy and Altıeylül’s Büyükbostancı neighborhoods.

A fire in Manisa’s Akhisar district near Yeğenoba neighborhood was contained using two planes, five helicopters, 22 water tenders, three supply vehicles and three dozers from the İzmir Regional Forestry Directorate and local firemen. Crews also extinguished a grass fire in İzmir’s Karşıyaka district on Örnekköy neighborhood’s 7549th Street.

Türkiye experiences severe forest fires during dry summer months, particularly in its coastal regions. Authorities expanded aerial fleets following large-scale wildfires in 2021.