Marmaris on fire

 

Fire across the bay

 

 As we sit here in the air conditioning avoiding the 107 degree heat outside we can still hear the helicopters overhead.  For five days now they have been scooping water from the sea and dumping it on the fire that is consuming the mountain.  Today is Sunday - August 1st.  The fires started on Wednesday afternoon - July 28th and it is still burning.  Fires started in the tourist areas of Turkey virtually all at the same time.  The Turkish people are very suspicious.

Smoke outside the house

We have moved into a "tiny house" here in Marmaris while Talaria is in the boatyard. This is what we saw when we opened the door to the house on Wednesday.  On Wednesday it was 98 degrees outside and windy!  The fire in Marmaris spread very quickly!  Michael and I were getting updates from the owner of the "tiny house" and decided that we should probably pack a "go quick" bag.  Homeowners and tourists from the hotels in the Icmeler part of town - about a mile from where we are - were being evacuated via Coast Guard boats and private boats. 

Although we were ready to go in a minutes notice we did not know where we would go!  Our boat is not in the water at the moment so sailing away is out.  We don't have a car so driving away is out.  And the fires are jumping from one mountain to the next so walking away is out as well.  Hmm... We were just hoping those firefighters are really good at their job and keep that fire from spreading to more of the town.

Needless to say there was not much sleeping on Wednesday.  Too much fire anxiety and way too much heat!  But on Thursday when we went out to check the situation we found that the fire was now on the other side of the mountain but had spread to nearby mountains as well.  This bay that we are in is ringed by mountains and the fire is consuming most of them.  We see more smoke than flames now as the fire has already burned this side of the mountains.  The helicopters are buzzing around all day but they don't fly at night.  And still yet, the fires persist.  We are keeping the "go bag" packed...