Turkey battles 2 wildfires, others under control

Ankara: Turkey is currently grappling with two wildfires in the southwestern province of Mugla, and all other blazes have been taken under control, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Bekir Pakdemirli announced.

 “All the forest fires in our country have been brought under control, except the ones in Milas and Koycegiz,” Pakdemirli tweeted on Monday, referring to the two districts of Mugla.

He noted that the firefighting efforts are going on in these regions, Xinhua news agency reported.

According to local media reports, the fire in Koycegiz continues at a location where a land intervention is not possible.

 The state-run TRT broadcaster said six planes are giving aerial support to firefighting efforts in Mugla, and four helicopters provided by Ukraine with night vision are also reinforcing.

 The massive fires that erupted in the southern and southwestern parts of the country 13 days ago has so far claimed eight lives.

Pakdemirli said 240 forest fires broke out in 47 provinces in total between July 27 and August 8.