ISTANBUL, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- A forest fire in Denizli province, western Türkiye, reached residential areas, burning houses and prompting evacuations, authorities said on Monday.
Governor Omer Faruk Coskun said on the social media platform X that all available resources had been mobilized and that efforts were continuing to bring the fire under control.
He noted that 84 households had been evacuated to safe areas after the flames spread into residential zones.
Türkiye's Ihlas News Agency reported that patients at Buldan Chest Diseases Hospital and its annex in the Buldan district were also evacuated as a precaution because of the advancing fire. Patients under treatment were transferred by ambulance to hospitals in downtown Denizli, while a field tent was set up near the hospital for urgent medical care, it added.
A video shared on X by Denizli Trafik Yasam, a local news platform, showed flames fanned by strong winds reaching residential areas as people ran in panic. Many residents were also seen trying to save their livestock from the blaze.
The forest fire, which began on Aug. 27 in Denizli's Buldan district, spread across the provincial border into neighboring Aydin. After burning for four days along the Denizli-Aydin border, it was largely contained but flared up again on Sunday night. ■