Turkish authorities completely closed the Dardanelles due to forest fire

The Turkish authorities closed the Dardanelles to the movement of ships from both sides. The reason was a powerful forest fire raging in the north-west of the country, said the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic Ali Yerlikaya.
“As a precautionary measure, the Çanakkale-Chan highway was closed to civilian traffic, and the Dardanelles was closed to maritime traffic on both sides,” the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs told reporters.
Turkish authorities have evacuated 1,251 residents of Canakkale province. The fire is extinguished by eight aircraft, 26 helicopters and about 180 units of ground equipment. The fire has been out of control for more than 12 hours.