A forest fire broke out in Karaöz District of Aksu district at around 16.30 yesterday. The fire, which broke out in the forest covered with dense pine trees, grew rapidly under the influence of the wind. Forestry and fire brigades intervened in the fire, which was advancing close to residential areas, by land and air.
Evacuation of citizens and animals has begun in endangered settlements. AFAD Mobile Coordination Truck, mobile base stations and Red Crescent catering vehicles were established. The fire started in Karaöz District and the flames reached the border of Döşemealtı district. In the Kızıllı and Ilıca neighborhoods of Döşemealtı district, the gendarmerie made a warning announcement to evacuate the houses as a precaution.
TOMAs were deployed in the region and security was increased to the highest level. Entrances and exits to the fire zone were closed. Aksu Municipality's animal shelter was evacuated as a precaution.
Construction machinery belonging to the State Hydraulic Works (DSI) also opened roads in the forest to slow down the speed of the fire. Medical teams intervened in ambulances at the scene to the forest workers who participated in the fire extinguishing effort and were affected by the smoke. The ashes formed in the fire area rained down on Antalya city center with the effect of the wind. In addition to Antalya MPs İbrahim Ethem Taş, Aykut Kaya and Aliye Coşar, Deputy Mayor of Antalya Metropolitan Municipality Büşra Özdemir and Kepez Mayor Mesut Kocagöz examined the works on site.
Making a statement at the fire scene, Metropolitan Municipality Deputy Mayor Büşra Özdemir said, "There is a rapidly growing fire with the influence of the wind. We are on the field with all our strength with our Antalya Metropolitan Municipality and ASAT teams. We took out our newly purchased fire trucks without even a traffic registration and without a license plate. We are also on the field in this organization, which is carried out under the coordination of AFAD, with all our work machines, tools and personnel."
As of the morning, 3 planes, 9 helicopters, 165 water trucks, 7 TOMAs, 25 work machines and 110 vehicles were used in the fire extinguishing efforts on the borders of Aksu and Döşemealtı districts. 610 from the Regional Directorate of Forestry, 74 from the Police Department, 40 from AFAD, 58 from the Metropolitan Municipality Fire Department, 49 from Kepez Municipality, 31 from Isparta Regional Directorate of Forestry, 20 from the Regional Directorate of DSI, Gendarmerie, ASAT, Health Directorate, Provincial Directorate of Family and Social Services, Akdeniz University, Konya AFAD, Isparta AFAD, Kızılay, Aksu Municipality, Muratpaşa. A total of 1,016 personnel from the Municipality, Konyaaltı Municipality, Döşemealtı Municipality, Serik Municipality, Manavgat Municipality, Konya Metropolitan Municipality, Karaman Municipality, Isparta Municipality and various NGOs are fighting in the fire area.
The fire, which broke out in Karaöz District of Aksu, reached Topallı District, approximately 10 kilometers away. While the teams intervened in the fire from the ground throughout the night, fire extinguishing helicopters and airplanes began to intervene from the air in the early hours of the morning. While it became difficult to extinguish the fire due to the wind reaching speeds of 30 kilometers per hour, citizens sat on the roadside and watched the fight against the flames. On the other hand, the smoke caused by the fire covered the surroundings. A part of the city was covered in smoke clouds. While the air temperature in the city was measured at 25 degrees, the humidity rate was stated to be around 30 percent.
The latest situation regarding the fire, in which 720 people from 254 houses were evacuated from Antalya Governorship, was announced as follows: "Due to the fire, 25 people from 10 households in Karaöz District of Aksu district, 29 households and 105 people from 18 barns in Yumuk District, 175 households and 439 people in Çamlıca District of Kepez district were evacuated, and evacuation efforts continue in Yeşilkaraman District of Aksu district. "Animal evacuations are continuing by Kepez Municipality teams and 3 trucks and 6 personnel have been assigned to be used in evacuation efforts. Mobile base station vehicles have been deployed to the region due to the outages in the mobile communication network. It has been reported that there is a power outage in the region and 2 thousand 97 subscribers are currently affected by the outage."
Stating that he came from abroad at night and inspected the fire area, Antalya Governor Hulusi Şahin said that efforts to control the fire continued uninterruptedly. Governor Şahin said, "The energy of the fire has decreased, so we expect it to be under control in a few hours. Therefore, our friends continue to work."
People living in the villages threatened by the flames also support the efforts to extinguish the fire that has been going on since yesterday in Antalya's Aksu district. In Kızıllı District, where announcements were made to evacuate last night, an announcement was made from the mosque in the morning that 'Water will be carried for the fire pool'. Thereupon, dozens of neighborhood residents carried water with their tractors to the water pool filled with water by helicopters and water trucks. The villagers took turns pouring the water into the pool and returned to the village to refill their tankers.
University student Emine Rana Yaka, who was carrying water from the village to the pool with her father's tractor, said, "We brought water here to help. We prepared the tankers in the evening. They told us to evacuate the houses, but we could not evacuate because we had animals. We waited until the morning without sleeping. When the announcement was made from the mosque, the whole village brought their tankers here. Everyone has their own tractors, their own tankers and the water they filled from their own pockets."
Fevzi Karakuş, the imam of the mosque in Kızıllı District, said, "We made an announcement to our citizens to evacuate their homes yesterday. Many of our citizens could not evacuate their homes for their animals. Today, we made the announcement for those with water tankers to come to the fire zone. Thanks to our citizens, they also support with their own means."
Nuri Uğurlu, who was carrying water with his tractor, said, "We came here to save our forests. We came here with our own means. The imam of the village announced from the mosque that the pool was empty. We are all from the same village."
The forest fire affected animals as well as trees, houses and people. While Antalya Metropolitan Municipality Fire Department and ASAT teams supported the work under the coordination of AFAD, Antalya Metropolitan Municipality Temporary Care Home and Rehabilitation Center for Stray Animals opened its doors to animals affected by the flames and dense smoke. Antalya Metropolitan Municipality veterinarians made intense efforts throughout the night to save the dogs in Aksu Animal Shelter, which were evacuated due to the fire. 105 dogs in Aksu Animal Shelter were transferred to Antalya Metropolitan Municipality Temporary Care Home and Rehabilitation Center for Stray Animals. Animals in need of treatment and care were also brought to the temporary care home by citizens. The health conditions of the animals, which were provided with oxygen support, were closely monitored by the veterinarians on duty. Animals whose eyes were affected by smoke and whose various parts of their bodies were burned were also treated and cared for.
8 people were affected by the forest fire that broke out at 16.25 yesterday in Karaöz District of Antalya's Aksu district. 2 of the citizens were transferred to the hospital with a complaint of leg injury, and 6 people were treated on an outpatient basis. Antalya Red Crescent distributed 3 catering vehicles, 3 pioneer vehicles, 9 personnel and 5 volunteers in the fire area and 3 thousand water, ayran for 500 people, 2 thousand 500 sodas, 750 sandwiches, tea and soup for 1000 people, croissants for 600 people and cakes for 3 thousand people. Konya, Isparta and Burdur Provincial AFAD directorates, Konya, Karaman and Isparta municipalities and Isparta Regional Directorate of Forestry teams are also taking part in fire extinguishing efforts.
In the regions where the fire was extinguished, teams from the Provincial Directorate of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change started to assess the damage, and Revenue Office officials began to assess the damage. 1086 personnel, 168 water trucks, 7 TOMAs, 30 work machines, 115 vehicles, 3 aircraft and 9 helicopters are working to extinguish the fire.
The burning areas in Karaöz District, which was the starting point of the fire that has been raging at different points for approximately 24 hours, were viewed from the air with a drone.
On the other hand, while the intervention to the flames from the ground continues, many fire extinguishing helicopters from the air continue to work from the first light of the morning to control the fire.
Response to the forest fire in Antalya's Aksu district is being carried out with difficulty due to wind. The flames reached the border of the houses in Yeşilkaraman District, where 151 people from 40 households were evacuated yesterday.
Transportation is controlled due to dense smoke covering the Antalya-Isparta highway. Police forces warn and remove those who try to cross the road. The teams' air and land extinguishing efforts continue.
