Almost 700 people are working to extinguish a forest fire in Istanbul province.

Almost 700 people are involved in extinguishing a forest fire in Istanbul's Silivri province, and residents of 50 houses have also been evacuated. This was reported on July 4 by the Anadolu agency.

"The fire, which broke out for an unknown reason at about 15:00 (15:00 Moscow time) on a dry pasture in the Chanta Balaban area, spread to the forest in the area adjacent to agricultural land and residential areas," the publication says.

According to Istanbul Governor Davut Gul, seven planes, three helicopters, 56 fire trucks and 691 rescuers were involved in extinguishing the fire. It is specified that at the moment about 100 hectares of forest have been damaged as a result of the fire.

In addition, a fire broke out in the Haji Bektash-y Veli urban forest in Istanbul. Four pieces of equipment and 82 personnel were sent to the scene. The fire was extinguished within three hours.

According to CNN Turks, 576 forest fires occurred in Turkey from June 26 to July 3, of which 331 spread to forests. In addition, fires have also been recorded in Izmir, Aliaga, Bornov, Menderes, Gaziomir over the past week.

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Earlier, the country's Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Ibrahim Yumakli, announced on July 1 that 342 forest fires had been registered in Turkey over the past few days. It was clarified that six fires in Manisa, Izmir, Hatay and Antakya were ongoing at that time.