Firefighters battling to contain fire in SW Turkey

Flames and smoke rising as firefighters try to extinguish the fire that broke out at a forest in Mugla’s Dalaman district, Turkey on 11 July 2019. [Orhan Çiçek – Anadolu Agency]

Firefighters are battling to contain a forest fire which erupted in southwestern Turkey, Anadolu reports.

The fire broke out on Wednesday in Dalaman, in the Mugla province, for unknown reasons and has so far burned some 350 hectares of forestland, the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry said in a statement.

A total of 520 firefighters, 105 water tankers, and 18 bulldozers battled the flames, which wind helped spread to the nearby city of Fethiye.

There have been no casualties from the fire.

Nearly 34 houses were evacuated for safety reasons, Mugla Governor Esengul Civelek told Anadolu Agency.

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