ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Firefighters sought on Friday to extinguish a wildfire from land and air close to residential areas in southwestern Turkey, the local forestry authority said, reminding Turks of blazes last year that raged across the region.
The regional forestry authority of Mugla province said the fires, fanned by strong winds and temperatures close to 40 degrees Celsius, were threatening a hotel and settlement areas in the small seaside town of Icmeler near Marmaris.
The Turkish coast guard secured the bay and suspended water traffic in the area where fire-fighting planes and helicopters were collecting water to help extinguish the fire, it added.
Television footage showed black and white smoke billowing near the coast and approaching settlement areas, as onlookers stood on beaches.
Human-induced climate change is making heat waves more likely and more severe, scientists say.
Last summer’s wildfires, most of which also occurred near Marmaris, were the most intense on record in Turkey, a European Union atmosphere monitor said at the time, adding that the Mediterranean had become a wildfire hot spot.
(Reporting by Yesim Dikmen; Writing by Ezgi Erkoyun; Editing by Tuvan Gumrukcu and Gareth Jones)
