Turkiye continues battle against wildfire in western province

A view of flames as efforts to extinguish the wildfire that broke out near Kayadere village continue by air and land interventions in Canakkale, Turkiye on August 22, 2023 [Metin Pala/Anadolu Agency]

Efforts to fight a raging wildfire in Turkiye’s west are ongoing, the country’s Interior Minister said Wednesday, Anadolu Agency reports.

“The efforts to fight the fire in Canakkale continue uninterrupted,” said Ali Yerlikaya.

More than 2,600 fire fighters and rescue workers, eight airplanes, 26 helicopters, 240 sprinkler trucks, 71 water tankers, and 328 vehicles and equipment have been dispatched to the scene, he added.

So far, 337 families and 1,251 individuals across nine villages in the affected region have been evacuated, he said.

The Canakkale (Dardanelles) Strait was closed to north-south ship passage because of the fire which broke out earlier Tuesday and rapidly spread due to strong winds.

READ: Forest fire shuts down Turkiye Dardanelles Strait for maritime traffic

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