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Turkey battles raging wildfires as record heat prompts mass evacuations
A wildfire rages across a forested area near Cavuslar village, in Karabuk district, northwest Turkey, Wednesday, July 23, 2025. (Ridvan Bostanci/IHA via AP)
Firefighters in Turkey continued to battle multiple wildfires on Sunday as a blistering Mediterranean heatwave forced the evacuation of over 3,600 residents across several provinces.
The blazes, fuelled by record-breaking temperatures erupted in the southern regions of Mersin and Antalya and the central province of Usak, with officials reporting that these fires were largely under control.
However, fires still raged in the northwestern province of Bursa and the northern province of Karabuk, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli said during a press briefing.
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A major fire ignited Saturday in the forested areas between Gursu and Kestel districts in Bursa, a region central to Turkey's automobile industry. The blaze forced a temporary closure of a highway linking Istanbul with the western city of Izmir on Saturday night.
Videos showed towering flames consuming trees near residential areas in Bursa, with thick plumes of smoke blanketing the skies. Authorities evacuated around 1,765 people from Kestel district as more than 2,000 firefighters, aided by six planes and four helicopters, worked to contain the spread.
In the northern province of Karabuk, where a large wildfire has been burning for five days, 1,839 people in 19 villages were evacuated, Yumakli said. Three planes and 16 helicopters are tackling the blazes in the area amid difficult conditions, he added.
'We are going through risky times. This does not seem likely to end in two or three days,' Yumakli said, referring to the heat-wave.
Temperatures in several regions in Turkey were forecast to reach over 40 degrees Celsius on Sunday, 6 to 12 degrees above seasonal norms, Turkey's meteorological service said, as thermometers hit 50 degrees Celsius in the country's southeast on Saturday for the first time in recorded history.
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