Bozolan: When Turkey’s fire crew attached on Tuesday with their week’s battle against Blazes to knock down forests and villages on the south coast of the country, President Recep President Tayyip Erdogan faced an increase in criticism of poor and inadequate responses for large-scale forest fires.
Flared by strong winds and heated temperatures, the fire which began on Wednesday killed eight people, forcing thousands of residents and tourists to escape from homes or holiday resorts of cars and trucks.
The charred and blackened tree has replaced a few hills coated with pine in Turquoise Beach Turkey while many villagers lose houses and livestock.
Firefighters still handle nine fires in the coastal province of Antalya and Mugla which are popular tourist destinations.
Other active fires were reported in Adana and Isparta Province.
Overall, 137 fires broke out in more than 30 provinces since Wednesday had been issued, officials said.
A senior Turkish forestry official described forest fires as the worst in Turkey in memory of life, even though he could not say how many hectares of forest land had been devoured by fire.
He also could not estimate how long the crew to issue a fire, said the strong wind was reviving the fire which had previously been controlled.
The official spoke with the terms of anonymity in line with government regulations.
When residents lost homes and livestock, anger turned towards the government, who admitted that it did not have a fire fighting fleet, and that the plane was not in a condition that could be used.
Opposition parties accused the government to fail to get firefighters while channeling funds for construction projects they say are dangerous for the environment.
The Erdogan government was also accused of sacrificing the efforts of firefighters by rejecting assistance from Western countries, including Greece rivals, during the early stages of the fire.
The Minister of Agriculture and Forestry of Bekir Pakdemirli rejected the allegations, saying that the government only refused offers for aircraft with a water disposal capacity of less than five tons.
The Israeli embassy said on Tuesday that Israel also offered to help but Turkish officials had refused the offer, saying “controlled situations.” It was said that the offer was still standing.
The local mayor posted a video begging for a fire truck response to forest fires in their area while celebrities joined a social media campaign that requested foreign assistance to fight Blazes.
The campaign was interesting an angry response from Erdogan Aide Top, Fahrettin Altun, who said “our turkey is strong.
Our country stands strong.” Meanwhile Erdogan has also been accused of being dissatisfied after he threw a tea bag in the occupants of the bus during a weekend visit to the Antalya area hit by fire.
The aircraft sent from Spain and Croatia will join planes from Russia, Iran, Ukraine and Azerbaijan on Tuesday.
A total of 16 aircraft, 51 helicopters and more than 5,000 personnel handling fires, officials said.
Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said 36 people in Mugla and 11 people in Antalya were still hospitalized for a fire-related injury.
The authorities have launched an investigation into the cause of the fire, including the possibility of sabotage by Kurdish militants.
However, most experts show climate change as being behind the fire, along with accidents caused by humans.
Heat waves throughout Southern Europe, fed by hot air from North Africa, has caused forest fires across the Mediterranean, including in Italy and Greece.
In Italy, Head of the Civil Protection Agency, Fabrizio Curcio, described forest fires that affect most of the Central and South Italians as “dramatic.” Firefighters on Tuesday combed seven main blazes in Calabria, Sicily, Basilicata and Puglia, hiring planes near Matera, in Basilicata and about three fires in Calabria.
They do more than 1,100 interventions in the last 24 hours.