Turkey battles wildfires amid strong winds, heatwave
Wildfires across Turkey over the past week have led to at least 14 deaths.
Nineteen villages and more than 3 500 people have been evacuated from their homes.
Turkey is experiencing a heatwave that peaked with temperatures above 40°C across much of the country last week and even reached a record high of 50.5°C on Friday in the far southeast, in Silopi, near the Iraqi and Syrian borders.
Firefighters are currently battling blazes around the city of Bursa in the northwest, the Karabuk region in the north and the Kahramanmaras region in the south.
"Five fires have been brought under control in four provinces," said Agriculture and Forestry minister Ibrahim Yumakli.
But he said the efforts were hampered by strong winds that are fanning the flames.
"Given the size and intensity of the fires, the state's ability to respond quickly to such disasters is sometimes limited," he said.
"If there's wind, there are no planes and it takes hours, even days, for you to take control," he said.
In recent days, 19 villages had to be evacuated in the Safranbolu region in the north, and more than 3 500 people around Bursa.
A firefighter battling the flames died of a heart attack on Saturday evening.
Three more people died Sunday in an accident involving a water tanker truck that was used to battle a blaze, the Bursa governorate announced.
On Wednesday, a wildfire killed at least 10 forest workers and rescuers who were battling a blaze near Eskisehir in western Turkey.
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