President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has announced a fleet of 21 firefighting aircraft, 94 helicopters, 25,000 trained troops and a staggering 120,000 determined volunteers to tackle any eventuality of roaring infernos and protect the country's priceless woodlands this year.
"Based on our past experiences, we have further strengthened our capacity to respond to fires this year. We want to get through the summer without wildfire mishaps," Erdoğan said.
Within the scope of the new measures announced by Erdoğan, three T70 water-shooting helicopters produced domestically by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) will be used in the case of forest fires.
The first four of the 20 Airtractor model aircraft with a capacity of three tons, which are both amphibious and capable of carrying water from the ground, will serve in case of forest fires this year, and the rest will join the fleet of the General Directorate of Forestry (OGM) within three years.
This year, 4,799 land vehicles (land rovers, construction equipment, first response vehicles), 63 helicopters, 19 airplanes and eight unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) will be utilized to tackle forest fires.
A total of 31 helicopters, two aircraft and two UAVs from the National Defense Ministry and Interior Ministry have also been designated as reserve forces.
In addition to the land and air fleet, OGM aims to increase the number of personnel assigned to respond to fires. While more than 25,000 trained personnel fight forest fires, 120,000 volunteers and Forest Search and Rescue Teams (ORKUT) consisting of 462 personnel in 30 regional directorates are also bolstering the campaign. OGM also aims to increase the number of ORKUT teams to 4,500.
The use of technology also plays a crucial role in early and effective response to forest fires. In order to detect fires earlier, 184 of the existing 776 towers were converted into smart towers, and 324 camera systems were installed.
These systems first identify the fire and then warn personnel on duty. The software developed in Türkiye, known as "Fire Decision Support Systems," determines possible locations that fires might spread to in advance based on meteorological data.