The wildfires in northwestern and central Türkiye have been successfully contained as of Thursday, as confirmed by the nation’s Minister of Agriculture and Forestry.
The fire that initially ignited in the Damyeri area of northwestern Çanakkale province on Tuesday is now under control.
Minister Ibrahim Yumaklı addressed reporters at a local forest fire management center, highlighting the collaborative efforts of firefighters on both the ground and in the air.
“The fire was brought under control within 48 hours under the coordination of the forestry department and AFAD (Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency),” Yumaklı said.
While seven people took injuries in the wildfire, none of those were life-threatening, he said, adding that the flames had claimed no lives.
“These citizens had chronic illnesses. One of our volunteers suffered a non-life-threatening injury,” he said.
Nearly 4,080 hectares (about 10,080 acres) of land were affected by the fire, including about 2,650 hectares of forest and 1,430 hectares of agricultural land and other areas, Yumaklı underlined.
He said the fire teams responded to the blaze with 10 planes, 38 helicopters, and 790 land vehicles, adding that a total of 3,774 personnel were in the field.
A separate wildfire that broke out in the central province of Eskişehir late on Wednesday had also affected a forest area of nearly 260 hectares, he said.
Fire under control
“After an intense struggle, the fire there was also brought under control. As of now, there are no active fires in our country,” he said.
Authorities are investigating what caused the wildfire in Çanakkale, Yumaklı added.