Istanbul limits access to forests for a month

The Istanbul Governorate announced that entrance to forests in the city was restricted between July 5 and July 31. The governorate said in a statement on Sunday that the decision was made as a protective measure against the dangers posed by increasing temperatures, and busy human and vehicle activity in the forests that may aggravate the risk of forest fires.

Spaces designated for picnics, natural parks, groves and parks would be open for public access while a ban on picnics using inflammable materials in these places will be in force. The governorate said setting up BBQs, using gas cylinders, hookahs or any other source of fire, were banned at the said sites. A ban is already in place for setting up fires to clear weeds in cultivated fields, orchards, etc.

Turkey suffered from more than 2,105 forest fires last year that ravaged vast swathes of forests across Turkey. The fires that gutted hundreds of hectares of forests between July and August were the worst in recent memory to hit Antalya and Muğla, two neighboring Mediterranean provinces. Last month, a major fire in Muğla’s Marmaris district had destroyed a large forest near the popular vacation resort town before firefighters were able to extinguish it after days of effort. Provinces across the country often issue bans for access to forests for picnickers carrying inflammable material while forestry services run patrols, employing drones, to detect the potential risks for forests in the summer – the high season for wildfires.

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