Firefighters in Turkey are continuing their efforts to extinguish fires that swept through forested hills in the west of the country on Friday.
Fires that broke out in at least five different locations in the coastal Aegean province have killed two people, displaced tens of thousands of residents and damaged around 200 homes.
The fires are said to have been caused by high temperatures, strong winds and low humidity.
Turkey's Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli said on Friday that firefighters, supported by firefighting aircraft, are still on the ground battling a deadly blaze near the town of Odemis for the third day in a row.
Meanwhile, emergency teams are working to prevent the spread of a new fire that broke out late Thursday near the Buca district.
The fire near Odemis claimed two lives – a forestry worker who died Thursday while trying to put out the flames, and an 81-year-old resident who died from smoke inhalation, according to authorities.
"Our intense air and ground fight to control the fires in Odemis and Buca continues," the minister said on platform X, without giving further details.
Another fire that broke out on Wednesday near the popular tourist destination of Cesme was brought under control on Friday, Yumakli said.
The fire prompted evacuations in three neighborhoods and caused temporary road closures.
Turkish officials have not yet given any estimate of the total area of land burned by the fires.
Authorities said most of the fires in Izmir were caused by faulty electrical lines. Yumakli blamed the fire in Buca on sparks created by construction workers using a metal cutting machine.
Summer fires are common in Turkey, where experts warn that climate change is worsening conditions./ REL (A2 Televizion)
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