MARMARIS, Turkey — A coal-fueled power plant in southwest Turkey and nearby residential areas were being evacuated Wednesday evening as flames from a wildfire reached the plant, a mayor and local reporters said as sirens from the plant could be heard blaring.
Milas Mayor Muhammet Tokat, from Turkey’s main opposition party, has been warning of the fire risks for the past two days for the Kemerkoy power plant in Mugla province. He said late Wednesday that the plant was being evacuated. Local reporters said the wildfires had also prompted the evacuation of the nearby seaside area of Oren.
Turkey’s defense ministry said it was evacuating people by sea as the fires neared the plant. The state broadcaster TRT said the flames had “jumped” to the plant.
Authorities have said that safety precautions have been taken at the Kemerkoy power plant and its hydrogen tanks had been emptied. TRT said flammable and explosive substances had been removed. The privately run plant uses lignite to generate electricity, according to its website.
As the mayor announced the evacuation on Twitter, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was speaking live on the pro-government A Haber channel and said the power plant was at risk of burning. Three ministers were there to oversee developments. He said planes and helicopters had been there all day to fight the fires.
But the mayor said air support came infrequently and focused only on the closer flames around the plant rather than addressing the wider fires in the area that were being fanned by shifting winds. At night, air support was not possible at all, and videos showed flames in the plant’s vicinity.
The wildfires have turned into yet another partisan issue in Turkey. Erdogan accused opposition party members of a “terror of lies” for criticizing Turkey’s lack of adequate aerial firefighting capabilities and inadequate preparedness for large-scale wildfires. The president said the municipalities were also responsible for protecting towns from fires and that responsibility did not fall on the central government alone.
Firefighters have been trying to protect the power plant for the past two days. Along with police water cannons, they fought back the flames Tuesday night while other rescuers dug ditches around the Kemerkoy plant. Videos from an adjacent neighborhood in Milas showed charred, decimated trees.
Scorching heat, low humidity and strong winds have fed the fires, which have killed eight people and countless animals and destroyed forests in the past eight days. Villagers have had to evacuate their homes and livestock, while tourists have fled in boats and cars. In the seaside province of Mugla, where tourist hot spot Bodrum is located, seven fires continued Wednesday. In Antalya, at least two fires raged on and two neighborhoods had to be evacuated.
Officials say 167 fires had been brought under control and 16 continued in five provinces. Thousands of firefighters and civilians were working to douse the flames.
