Agriculture and Forestry Minister Bekir Pakdemirli had good news on Thursday for the nation mourning the loss of thousands of hectares of forests to wildfires, stating that the last large-scale blaze in the Köyceğiz district of Muğla had been brought under control.
“We managed to bring Köyceğiz fire under control with the great efforts of heroes of forests,” Pakdemirli tweeted, referring to firefighters. The minister said the blaze was the last in a chain of fires that began on July 28 and lasted for 15 days, describing them as “the biggest forest fires in our history.” Pakdemirli said the Turkish nation united for the forests against this “major catastrophe” and thanked everyone involved, from the president to countries sending support for firefighting efforts. “We are hurt but rest assured, we will make our forests green again,” he added.
On Wednesday another wildfire broke out in the Bucak district of Burdur, north of Antalya, but firefighters managed to contain it in one day. Six suspects accused of starting the fire were detained, authorities announced.
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