SARYA DENİZ

News Center- Turkey has been struggling with wildfires since July 28. Wildfires broke out in more than 100 parts of Turkey and some of them haven’t been completely put out yet. The wildfires have killed eight citizens and thousands of animals, and trees have burned to ashes. People have discussed why and how the fires broke out, the methods of intervention in fires, and the statements of the authorities.

In this article, we focus on how this process has been carried out and what has been happening. Many have claimed that the wildfires are the result of sabotage, not climate change or by accident. The authorities are investigating whether the fires may have started as an act of sabotage.

Wildfires and claims

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced in his latest statement that a large-scale investigation is being carried out into the claims of sabotage. Erdoğan said that if these claims are confirmed by the investigation, the criminals will be punished.

Apart from the claims of sabotage, people concern that the burned areas would be used for construction projects. But there is no concrete evidence about this concern and no investigation has been launched about it.

Claims and racism

Since the beginning of the wildfires, pro-government press outlets and people have accused the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) of starting the fires. This claim has been shared on social media platforms. Such news on social media causes many racist posts against the Kurdish people.

Late intervention

Turkish Aeronautical Association (THY) and Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry come under fire for late intervention in wildfires. The number of fire-extinguishing planes was insufficient. On July 20, the THY made a statement and reported that “Turkey has fire-extinguishing planes.” But then, the THY made another statement and reported that Turkey intervened the wildfires with “20 fire-extinguishing planes.”

Fire extinguishing was privatized in 2019

Tuncay Mollaveisoğlu, the writer of Cumhuriyet Newspaper, claimed that the fire extinguishing department was privatized in 2019. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry denied this claim.

Thousands of hectares have been burnt

According to the data of the General Directorate of Forestry, a total of 2.319 wildfires broke out every year between 2011 and 2015; 6.371 hectares were burnt in these fires. Between 2016 and 2020, the annual average number of wildfires was 2.770; 11.818 hectares were burnt in these years. In 2020, 3.399 wildfires broke and 20. 971 hectares were burnt.