Firefighters battle to contain five wildfires across Turkey, minister says

ANKARA (Reuters) - Firefighters were battling to contain wildfires in five Turkish provinces on Saturday, the Forestry Minister said, though a blaze in the western Izmir region that broke out on Thursday had eased somewhat and residential areas were no longer at risk.

The blaze in Izmir's Karsiyaka district was caused by a fire built by three people picnicking near an area of forest, Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli told reporters, adding that authorities are close to identifying the people.

"The intensity of the fire decreased, and there is no more risk to residential areas at the moment," Yumakli said. The fire was burning inside a valley which is hard to reach from land, he added.

The blaze, which was fanned by strong winds, came close to residential areas on Friday, damaging homes and businesses and forcing evacuations.

Sixteen homes and 30 workplaces in an industrial site were burned, Izmir mayor Cemil Tugay said in a post on social media platform X, while the Health Ministry said on Friday that 78 people had been affected by the fire.

Footage showed helicopters and planes continuing to drop water on the flames, as firefighters' efforts to contain the fire from land went on.

Firefighters are also working to contain wildfires in the western provinces of Aydin and Manisa, as well as the northern provinces of Bolu and Karabuk, Forestry Minister Yumakli said.

The General Directorate of Forestry has warned of a high risk of wildfires across 12 provinces in northern and western Turkey for the next 10 days due to high temperatures, low humidity and strong winds.

Turkey's coastal regions in particular have in recent years been ravaged by wildfires as summers have become hotter and drier, which scientists relate to climate change.

(Reporting by Huseyin Hayatsever; Editing by Jan Harvey)