Turkey evacuates thousands as firefighters battle wildfires
Wildfires in the southern provinces of Mersin and Antalya as well as the central province of Usak were largely brought under control, but blazes in the northwestern province of Bursa and the northern province of Karabuk were still burning, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli told reporters.
A wildfire broke out in a forested area between the Gursu and Kestel districts of Bursa, home to much of Turkey's auto industry, on Saturday. Part of a highway connecting Istanbul with the western city of Izmir was briefly closed on Saturday night due to the fire.
Huge flames engulfed trees in areas close to homes in Bursa as smoke covered the sky over the city, footage showed.
Some 1,765 people in Bursa's Kestel district were evacuated, Yumakli said, adding that 2,000 firefighters were struggling to battle the wildfire in the area with the help of six firefighting planes and four helicopters.
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.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Gulf Today
an hour ago
- Gulf Today
Wildfires threaten Turkey's fourth-largest city as locals evacuate
Wildfires that have engulfed Turkey for weeks threatened the country's fourth-largest city early Sunday, causing more than 1,500 people to flee their homes and leaving a firefighter dead. Overnight fires in the forested mountains surrounding Bursa in northwest Turkey spread rapidly, tinting the night sky over the city's eastern suburbs with a red glow. Dozens of severe wildfires have hit the country daily since late June, with the government declaring two western provinces, Izmir and Bilecik, disaster areas on Friday. Bursa governor's office said in a statement Sunday that 1,765 people had been safely evacuated from villages to the northeast as more than 1,100 firefighters battled the flames. The highway linking Bursa to the capital, Ankara, was closed as surrounding forests burned. A firefighter died from a heart attack while on the job, the city's mayor, Mustafa Bozbey, said in a statement, adding that the flames had scorched 3,000 hectares (7,413 acres) around the city. Orhan Saribal, an opposition parliamentarian for the province, described the scene as "an apocalypse.' Residents and firefighters attempt to extinguish a wildfire as smoke and flames rise from a forested area in the Gursu district of Bursa early on Sunday. AFP By morning, lessening winds brought some respite to firefighters, who continued efforts to battle the flames. However, TV footage revealed an ashen landscape where farms and pine forests had earlier stood. Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yamukli said fire crews across the country confronted 76 separate blazes Saturday. The country's northwest was under the greatest threat, including Karabuk, where wildfires have burned since Tuesday, he said. Unseasonally high temperatures, dry conditions and strong winds have been fueling the wildfires. The General Directorate of Meteorology said Turkey recorded its highest ever temperature of 50.5 degrees Celsius (122.9 degrees Fahrenheit) in the southeastern Sirnak province on Friday. The highest temperatures for July were seen in 132 other locations, it said. Fourteen people have died in recent weeks, including 10 rescue volunteers and forestry workers killed Wednesday in a fire in Eskisehir in western Turkey. Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said late Saturday that prosecutors had investigated fires in 33 provinces since June 26, and that legal action had been taken against 97 suspects. Associated Press
Dubai Eye
17 hours ago
- Dubai Eye
Turkey evacuates thousands as firefighters battle wildfires
Firefighters battled wildfires across Turkey on Sunday amid a searing Mediterranean heat-wave, with authorities evacuating more than 3,600 people from settlements in two provinces. Wildfires in the southern provinces of Mersin and Antalya as well as the central province of Usak were largely brought under control, but blazes in the northwestern province of Bursa and the northern province of Karabuk were still burning, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli told reporters. A wildfire broke out in a forested area between the Gursu and Kestel districts of Bursa, home to much of Turkey's auto industry, on Saturday. Part of a highway connecting Istanbul with the western city of Izmir was briefly closed on Saturday night due to the fire. Huge flames engulfed trees in areas close to homes in Bursa as smoke covered the sky over the city, footage showed. Some 1,765 people in Bursa's Kestel district were evacuated, Yumakli said, adding that 2,000 firefighters were struggling to battle the wildfire in the area with the help of six firefighting planes and four helicopters. 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.
Dubai Eye
a day ago
- Dubai Eye
Greece battles wildfires across country, evacuates villages
Firefighters were battling wildfires across Greece and the Western Balkans on Saturday as the south of Europe sweltered under the third heatwave of the summer, with some villages and settlements being evacuated in Greece and Albania. Explosions could be heard as huge clouds of smoke covered Drosopigi village 25 km north of Athens, where factories with flammable material are located. Helicopters dropped water and 145 firefighters battled the flames, assisted by 44 vehicles, seven helicopters and 10 aircraft. Two houses caught fire while residents of the nearby village Krioneri were instructed by authorities to leave towards Athens. Five people were taken to hospitals over burns and smoke inhalation. Temperatures in Greece were forecast to reach up to 44 degrees Celsius on Saturday, the Greek weather service said. "In the last 24 hours alone, 52 agroforestry fires broke out, 44 of which were dealt with immediately, in their initial stage," said Vassilios Vathrakogiannis, a spokesperson for the Fire Brigade. In neighbouring Albania, 26 fires broke out throughout the country on Saturday, following a large fire near the southern Albanian town of Delvina on Friday which injured three people and forced the evacuation of about 2,000 residents. PEOPLE RESCUED FROM BEACHES On the Greek island of Evia, 128 firefighters and 29 vehicles were deployed to put out fires, assisted by six aircraft and seven helicopters, but strong winds were hampering their efforts. Residents of the island's Triada area were evacuated while two fire trucks were damaged and five firefighters injured during the operation. The fire on Evia is the latest in a series of bushfires stoked by strong winds and dry conditions this month. On the island of Kythera, residents from several settlements were evacuated to safe areas and Coast Guard forces said they rescued 138 people, including an infant, from the beach of Limnionas near the area of the fire. In the area of Messinia, south of Athens, residents of the Kryoneri and Sellas villages were also told to leave. These sites were on a list of Greek regions on high alert for wildfires due to record-breaking temperatures and strong winds due on Saturday. In Kosovo, authorities managed to extinguish 17 blazes fuelled by strong winds while 12 others remained active, officials said. In the southern town of Prizren, a fire engulfed a farm, killing eight cows, according to local emergency services. Local media reported that a separate fire in eastern Kosovo killed around 40 sheep. Greece and other Mediterranean countries are in an area dubbed "a wildfire hotspot" by scientists, with blazes common during hot and dry summers. These have become more destructive in recent years due to a fast-changing climate, prompting calls for a new approach.
