President Tatar: Everyone is doing their best to put out the fires

Speaking there, President Ersin Tatar said that an extraordinary effort to bring the fire under control was continuing and reminded that 6 planes and 5 helicopters were being used throughout the day and assisting in the fire fighting efforts.

“No one should blame anyone. Everyone is doing their best,” he said.

making a staetment to the BRT, Tatar said that he had visited the area at 6 am on Thursday morning and had come to the conclusion that the fire was nearly extinguished and that cooling efforts were going to take place throughout the day.

Reminding that he had also visited the region during the day with Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay and flown over the area, Tatar stated that there were only three to five small fires going on at the time on the northern ridge, and that they were expecting flare ups in places where the fire was put out in the event the winds picked up again.

Noting that similar situations were experienced in forest fires in the USA, Türkiye and Australia Tatar said, “Everyone is doing all they can. Fire fighting aircraft has arrived from Türkiye, South Cyprus, the British Bases and Israel. The new helicopter of the Security Forces Command also participated in efforts. Water tankers are also working non-stop.”

Tatar thanked the brave people who are all working to put out the fires.

He stated that the winds were fuelling the fire and that everyone would continue to battle the flames until the fires were extinguished.

“Fire fighting aircraft and helicopters will continue in the morning. We will plant 600 thousand saplings in place of the burnt trees, and these places will sprout again in 10-15 years. I want to thank all of our teams, institutions and organizations for their help,” he said.