Wildfires Spread Through Southern Turkey as Hot, Dry Weather Continues

At least three people are dead as a wildfire continues to burn through southern Turkey. It is the second day that the fire, which started in four points near the town of Manavgat and spread to the town center, has been burning. Hot weather – with temperatures reaching 102 degrees Fahrenheit – and 27-mile-per-hour wind gusts haven’t helped. Authorities evacuated 18 villages and districts in Antalya and 16 villages in the neighboring provinces of Adana and Mersin. A Manavgat hospital also was evacuated, Reuters reported. Several houses have been burned. A plane, a drone, 19 helicopters, about 250 vehicles and 960 people have been involved in firefighting efforts. Since Tuesday, 41 wildfires have spread through 13 of Turkey’s 81 provinces, according to Turkey’s Agriculture Minister Bekir Pakdemirli.