Hundreds of volunteers help crews tackling Turkey wildfires

MUGLA, Turkey (AP) — Actor Tevfik Erman Kutlu was on a break from filming in Istanbul when wildfires that devastated swaths of southern Turkey first erupted.

Desperate to play a part in efforts to put out the fires, he and five friends drove 725 kilometers (450 miles) to the coastal resort of Marmaris to lend a helping hand to combat the blazes.

Once there, the friends formed a human chain helping to carry fire extinguishers, unfolded and rushed a firetruck’s hose to firefighters and even tackled a hillside fire themselves, dousing pressurized water on flames under the guidance of fire crews.

“Instead of sitting at home and watching videos of the fires on social media, I wanted to be of use,” the 41-year-old film and television actor currently starring in a TV drama series about the mafia underworld, told The Associated Press.

They are among the hundreds of volunteers who have joined efforts to contain blazes that have swept through forests in Turkey’s southern and southwestern coasts, fueled by a summer heatwave, low humidity and strong winds. The fires, described as Turkey’s worst in living memory, have so far killed eight people, including a volunteer who was carrying drinking water and other refreshments to firefighters in Marmaris.

The fires have also killed countless animals, destroyed acres of forests near the country’s favorite tourist destinations, and forced thousands of evacuations. Farmlands have also been ravaged, leaving many in the region concerned about their livelihood.

In coastal Mugla province, where the tourist destinations of Bodrum and Marmaris are located, fires continued to burn in three areas on Friday, officials said. Blazes in Marmaris were largely contained by Friday, according to its mayor. Fires also raged in some districts of Antalya...