Hundreds evacuated in northwestern Turkey as authorities fight wildfires

ISTANBUL — Firefighters in Turkey are battling wildfires in the centre of the northwestern province of Canakkale, fanned by strong winds, and hundreds of residents have evacuated in precaution, local authorities and media said on Monday (Aug 11).

Airplanes, helicopters, vehicles and around 700 personnel are fighting the blazes, city Governor Omer Toraman said in a post on X.

Authorities launched some precautionary evacuations, including a university campus, and military and residential areas, and urged residents to avoid unnecessary travel to keep roads clear for emergency vehicles.

The city's airport and the Dardanelles Strait, as well as a part of the highway, were shut due to the wildfires for several hours on Monday before re-opening after sunset.

Reuters images showed blazes consuming swathes of forest, with thick smoke billowing into the sky.

Helicopters were seen scooping water from the Dardanelles Strait and dousing the wildfires, while water-spraying police vehicles worked to extinguish flames that had spread to some residential buildings in the area.

Temperatures in the region reached 33 deg C with a wind speed of up to 66 kilometres per hour, according to Turkey's meteorological service.

Some 50 people were affected by smoke and were treated at nearby medical facilities, with no life-threatening conditions, the governor said.

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