Wind-Driven Wildfires Force Evacuations Across Antalya and Adana; One Death

A wildfire that broke out the evening of September 7 in Antalya's Aksu district spread rapidly under winds of about 30 km/h into neighboring Kepez, forcing the evacuation of at least 254 homes (roughly 720 people) and briefly closing the highway between Antalya and Isparta. Two people were hospitalized with leg injuries and six others were treated on-site for smoke inhalation. A separate fire in Adana's Kozan district spread into the Doğanalanı area and the district of İmamoğlu (a place name in Adana province, unrelated to the jailed Istanbul mayor of the same name), destroying seven homes and prompting precautionary evacuations. More than 1,000 personnel, five fixed-wing aircraft and ten helicopters were deployed. Turkey's General Directorate of Forestry recorded 177 wildfires nationwide between September 6 and 8 alone (406 since September 1). On September 9, Aksu mayor İsa Yıldırım said local resident Hasan Kahya, who had joined firefighters battling the blaze, died of a heart attack after inhaling heavy smoke.