Hundreds evacuated as wildfires sweep Turkey's Canakkale province
Firefighters in Turkey are battling wildfires in the centre of the northwestern province of Canakkale, fanned by strong winds, and hundreds of residents have been evacuated as a precaution, local authorities and media said on Monday.
Airplanes, helicopters, vehicles and around 700 personnel are fighting the blazes, city Governor Omer Toraman said in a post on X. Authorities launched precautionary evacuations, including a university campus, and military and residential areas, urging residents to avoid unnecessary travel to keep roads clear for emergency vehicles.
Read More: 6.1-magnitude quake hits western Turkey
The city's airport and the Dardanelles Strait, as well as part of the highway, were shut for several hours on Monday before reopening after sunset due to the wildfires.
Reuters images showed flames consuming swathes of forest with thick smoke billowing into the sky. Helicopters were seen scooping water from the Dardanelles Strait and dousing the blazes, while water-spraying police vehicles worked to extinguish flames that had spread to some residential buildings.
Also Read: Turkey reports hottest July in 55 years
Temperatures in the region reached 33 degrees Celsius with wind speeds of up to 66 kilometres per hour, according to Turkey's meteorological service.
Some 50 people were affected by smoke and treated at nearby medical facilities, but none were in life-threatening condition, the governor said.
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