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Firefighters were battling a strong forest fire in Aegean city of Izmir for a third day on Saturday, a day after hundreds of local people in nearby villages had to be evacuated.
The pine trees that once crowned the surrounding hills were also burned. The smell of smoke was hanging over the city, the third most-populated in Turkey. Firefighters from other Turkish cities have been sent as reinforcements and the army has been mobilised.
The fire started on Thursday and spread quickly to residential areas by winds blowing at 50 kilometres (30 miles) an hour. Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said 900 residents in five affected districts had been evacuated Friday night in Izmir.
On Saturday, those villages remained empty for security reasons, except for a handful of volunteers who left food and water for animals living in the forest. Wild animals, cats and dogs died in the fire but no human victim has yet been reported.
The fire damaged 16 buildings and affected 78 people, with 29 of them admitted to hospital, the Turkish health ministry said. Around 1,600 hectares (3,900 acres) have been affected, the minister said, adding that the challenging terrain was making it difficult to put out the fire at its origin.
