Fire that reached Turkish power plant contained, others burn

MUGLA, Turkey (AP) — A wildfire that reached the compound of a coal-fueled power plant in southwest Turkey and forced nearby residents to flee in boats and cars was contained on Thursday after raging for some 11 hours, officials and media reports said.

Strong winds drove the fire toward the Kemerkoy power plant in Mugla province late Wednesday, prompting evacuations from the nearby seaside resort of Oren. Navy vessels were deployed to help ferry away residents, while cars formed long convoys on roads leading away from the area, Haberturk television reported.

Turkey's worst wildfires in decades have raged for nine days amid scorching heat, low humidity and constantly shifting strong winds. The fires have so far killed eight people and countless animals.

In coastal Mugla province, where tourist hot spot Bodrum is located, fires continued to burn in five areas on Thursday, officials said. Fires also raged in five districts of Antalya province, another tourism destination, where two neighborhoods were evacuated on Wednesday.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the situation in Antalya was improving.

“We are in better shape today than yesterday. We stopped the fire from spreading further, thanks to interventions from the air and the ground,” he said. “We are more hopeful for tomorrow (when) wind speeds will be lower. We need to turn this to our advantage.”

In Mugla, authorities evacuated three neighborhoods near the town of Milas Thursday evening as the fires neared.

“How is this going to be prevented?” asked Mesut Yilmaz, a 57-year-old resident of the Gurceyiz neighborhood, after he moved his livestock out of harm's way to a neighboring village. “I am depressed.”

Precautions were taken before the flames reached the Kemerkoy power plant. The plant's hydrogen tanks were...