Everything burned down, but nothing happened to Farmer Ahmet's field

In the forest fire that broke out in the Ödemiş district of İzmir, the garden that farmer Ahmet Türk had previously ploughed and cleared of weeds was notable for not burning in the area covered with a black blanket.

The forest fire that broke out in Tosunlar Neighborhood on July 2 spread due to strong winds despite the intervention of the Izmir Regional Directorate of Forestry and fire brigade teams.

The fire caused damage to houses, barns and agricultural lands in the evacuated Sucıktı, Tosunlar, Üzümlü, Köseler and Karadoğan neighborhoods, but it was noteworthy that the garden of approximately 4 acres of olive and fig trees in Karadoğan was not affected by the flames.

The owner of the garden, 68-year-old Ahmet Türk, told AA that he plows, hoes and clears the weeds from his land two or three times a year.

Stating that they have seen once again the importance of maintaining the land, Türk said, "I always do the plowing and hoeing work. All farmers need to plow between their trees. The season is dry and everything needs to be thought of."

Türk said that he put a lot of effort into his garden and as a result, his trees were protected from fire, and said:

"If you don't take care of your garden, it will burn to ashes. This field, this land, should remain for years, from generation to generation. I was happy when I came and saw it after the fire. If we hadn't taken care of it, our years of hard work would have been in vain. I got the reward of my labor. I always take good care of my land. Everyone should mow the grass on their land, put up a grill, when there is no grass, there will be no fire. I am happy that my garden didn't burn, but our friends' trees and houses burned. This is sad."

Karadoğan Neighborhood Headman Levent Köymen also said that many houses, barns and gardens in the neighborhood were burned due to the fire.

Köymen stated that the fire left many areas unusable and that the Turk's garden was not affected, saying, "Our friend had plowed his garden, put up a grate and survived the fire. The fire did not break out because our friend had cleared the grass."

Source: AA