Forestry General Manager Bekir Karacabey talked about how Turkey’s air fleet will be against forest fires this year. Karacabey, who made statements about the subject that caused controversy last year, stated that possible fires will be fought with 20 planes and 55 helicopters.
One of the frightening consequences of climate change Forest fires last year, it affected both our country and the world. These fires, which broke out in many regions of Turkey, caused the deaths of citizens, the destruction of animals and the destruction of hundreds of thousands of hectares of land.
How prepared we were for these fires in the forests, which are described as our ‘lungs’, was the subject of great debate in those days. In the statements made in those days, against fires in Turkey 3 aircraft, 9 UAVs and 39 helicopters had been reported. In addition, plane aid was received from countries such as Russia and Ukraine. However, the fact that most of these vehicles were rented and at a much lower level from other countries was the focus of criticism. Now, a new statement has come on the subject.
“We increased the number of helicopters from 39 to 55”
Stating that a budget of 2 billion 400 liras has been allocated for firefighting aircraft in the past months, and that 5 aircraft will officially belong to Turkey with the tenders. Forestry General Manager Bekir Karacabeymade statements about the fight against fires in the planting of saplings in the Jerusalem Memorial Forest created in Kahramanmaraş.
Stating that fires are among the consequences of climate change, Karacabey said that they are working to minimize the consequences of these disasters. The General Manager, who also spoke about the aircraft, which is the subject of great debate, this year 20 planes and 55 helicopters He stated that they will work with: “We will have used more vehicles this year, especially in terms of aircraft. We will work with 20 planes and 55 helicopters. Last year We increased the number of helicopters from 39 to 55 this year.. Hopefully, these vehicles will be on duty as of May 1,” he said.
Karacabey also stated that the preparations continue not only in the air, but also on land. Stating that ground troops are also effective in extinguishing the fires, the General Manager said; They said that they expect the number of volunteers to increase from 90 thousand to 100 thousand this year, and they also told the land defense teams. 5 thousand people added expressed.
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Apart from these, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also made statements on the subject in the past months. Erdogan is a team that can detect fires early against possible forest disasters and dispatch a team to the region. artificial intelligence drew attention to the establishment of the system. After that, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Bekir Pakdemirli shared that the system was installed in Antalya and Muğla.