The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry leased 10 Air Tractor type aircraft to operate in regions of Turkey where forest fires are intense, and the planes were deployed to İzmir last week. Today, Deputy General Director of Forestry Hayati Özgür and İzmir Regional Director of Forestry Zafer Derince came to İzmir Selçuk Airport and visited the fire planes and their team.
Speaking at the visit, Zafer Derince said, “The planes we leased have started to work as of today. The planes are able to carry 3 tons and can stay in the air for 4.5 hours. They have a thousand-kilometer range. Even though the district of Selçuk is chosen as the location of deployment, they will also be able to intervene fires in different parts of Turkey,” he said.
Fire planes, on the other hand, were used for the first time today. The planes that responded to a forest fire in Seferihisar’s Doanbey district completed their mission by successfully intervening. The fire, which required the intervention of 15 water tanks, 6 water tankers, 1 helicopter, and 2 planes, was extinguished in about 20 minutes.