Wildfires kill two in western Turkiye, little-known group claims arson attacks

3 days ago

The latest casualty was a backhoe operator, Ibrahim Demir, who died while battling the flames in the Odemis districtA group calling itself 'Children of Fire' claimed responsibility ISTANBUL: A wildfire killed a second person in Türkiye's western Izmir province on Tuesday as blazes raged for a seventh day across several regions, while a little-known group claiming ties to Kurdish militants said it was behind dozens of arson attacks.The latest casualty was a backhoe operator, Ibrahim Demir, who died while battling the flames in the Odemis district, the state-run Anadolu news agency said.Earlier, an 81-year-old bedridden man who was home alone in the same area died when fire reached his house, marking the first death since the fires began.A group calling itself 'Children of Fire' claimed responsibility for 'tens of fires across six Turkish cities', according to a statement shared online.The group, which is little known, says it is affiliated with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), designated a terrorist group by Türkiye, the United States and European Union. The PKK, which said in May that it was ending a 40-year insurgency and disbanding, has not commented on the claim.Firefighters continued to battle flames with helicopters and planes dropping water over mountainous terrain in Izmir, while authorities closed some roads to the Aegean resort town of Cesme, Anadolu said.Broadcasters showed footage of flames lining the main highway as water tankers arrived.Türkiye, Greece and other countries in the Mediterranean are in an area scientists dub 'a wildfire hotspot' — with blazes common during hot and dry summers. These have become more destructive in recent years due to a fast-changing climate.Wildfires across Türkiye's west have damaged around 200 homes and victims have been provided alternative accommodation, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said. Some 50,000 people were temporarily evacuated earlier this week from areas of fires fueled by high temperatures, low humidity and strong winds.New fires also broke out on Thursday in the southern resort province of Antalya and in forested areas near Istanbul, Türkiye's largest city, Anadolu said. Authorities have managed to contain several of the blazes.

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Turkey sends firefighting aircraft to Syria as wildfires rage on both sides of the border

Al Arabiya

an hour ago

Al Arabiya

Turkey sends firefighting aircraft to Syria as wildfires rage on both sides of the border

Turkey sent two firefighting aircraft Saturday to help battle wildfires in neighboring Syria as Turkish firefighters battled a blaze on their side of the border and one person was reported dead in the country's west. Eleven fire trucks and water support vehicles were also dispatched to help beat back flames in Syria's northwest Latakia region, according to Raed Al Saleh, the Syrian minister of emergency and disaster management. He posted on X, saying 'sudden wildfires in Turkey' delayed their arrival by almost a day. Turkey has been battling wildfires since June 26. Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli said Saturday that firefighters successfully controlled 10 major fires in western Turkey, but an injured forestry worker had died, the third in the municipality of Odemis in Izmir province. Authorities said most of the fires in Izmir were caused by faulty power lines. Meanwhile, in Hatay province, which borders Syria, emergency crews continued fighting a blaze that broke out Friday afternoon in the Dortyol district near a residential area and rapidly intensified due to strong winds, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported. Some 920 homes had been evacuated as a precaution against the advancing flames, Governor Mustafa Musatli said late Friday. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said 44 suspects had been detained in relation to 65 fires that broke out across the country. Fires that have hit Turkey, Greece and Syria over the past week have been fueled by soaring temperatures, strong winds, and low humidity. In Turkey, they led to the evacuation of tens of thousands of people and damaged some 200 homes. The Syrian Civil Defense expressed concerns over the presence of unexploded ordnance from the country's past conflicts in some of the wildfire areas. Summer fires are common in the eastern Mediterranean region, where experts warn that climate change is intensifying conditions.

Al Arabiya

2 hours ago

Al Arabiya

Wildfires spread across Europe

Several wildfires broke out on Saturday across European countries including Greece, Turkey and France, whose southern regions are battling multiple fires following a prolonged heatwave. In Turkey, where firefighters have battled more than 600 fires in the drought-hit nation over the past week, authorities said a forestry worker injured while fighting the flames in the province of Izmir had died of his injuries. The blaze, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) east of the coastal resort of Izmir, had already claimed the lives of an 81-year-old bedridden man and a 39-year-old forestry worker on Thursday. The fire was brought under control on Friday evening, along with six other forest fires mainly in western and central Turkey, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli said on X. But firefighters on Saturday were still battling a fire in the southern coastal area of Dortyol, near the Syrian border. Turkey has largely escaped the recent heatwaves that swept southern Europe, but strong winds have intensified the forest fires. French weather service Meteo-France said on Saturday the punishing heatwave that began on June 19 had officially ended on Friday, lasting in all 16 days -- the same length as the country's deadly 2003 heatwave. That same day, however, the first major fires of the season broke out in the south, as well as in the Bouches-du-Rhone and Herault departments, leading authorities to shut down portions of a key motorway during the first weekend of the summer holiday season. Traffic jams reached up to 10 kilometers in each direction on the A9 motorway, with water being distributed to the numerous motorists stranded under the blazing sun. In Mireval, near the southern city of Montpellier, a blaze fanned by swirling winds led firefighters to evacuate about 10 people. 'It was very frightening, especially between 4:00 pm (1400 GMT) and 6:30 pm. The air was unbearable to breathe, there was a lot of smoke in the village, you couldn't see anything anymore and large ashes were falling from the sky,' said 46-year-old resident Lorette Gargaud. In Greece, a 52-year-old man was arrested on the island of Evia, accused of starting the fire that devastated part of the island between Friday evening and Saturday morning. The man was allegedly clearing brush from a plot of land when the fire broke out and quickly got out of control, public broadcaster ERT reported. Greek firefighters remained on high alert on Saturday due to high temperatures and strong winds across the country.

California's biggest wildfire of the year spreads to 70,000 acres

Arab News

a day ago

Arab News

California's biggest wildfire of the year spreads to 70,000 acres

LOS ANGELES: A massive wildfire raging in California for the past three days has ravaged more than 70,000 acres, as hundreds of firefighters fought to bring it under control. The 'Madre Fire' broke out on Wednesday in San Luis Obispo, a rural county in the heart of the US state. Around 200 people were ordered to evacuate, with dozens of buildings threatened by the flames. The fire has engulfed 70,800 acres (28,700 hectares) since Wednesday, and more than 600 personnel and 40 fire engines have been deployed to contain it, Cal Fire, the state's fire service, said in an update on Friday. It is the largest blaze so far this year in California, which was scarred by wildfires that destroyed swaths of Los Angeles at the start of the year. This summer is the first since President Donald Trump announced plans to gut federal agencies tasked with fighting climate disaster. On Friday, California Governor Gavin Newsom said 15 new fires had ignited on federal land in the past 24 hours, and called on the president to prioritize funding for firefighting resources. 'Trump needs to WAKE UP and start funding federal firefighters and land-management teams in these rural communities — instead of giving tax cuts to billionaires,' Newsom, a Democrat, wrote on X. 'Trump's incompetence is endangering lives.' A separate statement from the governor's press office said Friday that the Madre Fire 'remains in a very isolated location — away from homes.' It comes after several other blazes, raising fears of a difficult summer ahead for the state already traumatized by the wildfires that killed 30 people in January. Southern California had an unusually dry winter and spring, and vegetation is already parched, UCLA extreme climate events specialist Daniel Swain has said. Intense and widespread heat this summer, and dry brush 'will heavily factor into burning conditions later this season,' he added. Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has ordered budget and personnel cuts at the Forest Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and FEMA, the federal agency that coordinates disaster response. On Wednesday, Newsom accused the Republican president of not funding enough wildfire prevention projects. 'We need an equivalent commitment of resources — not rhetoric,' Newsom told reporters, noting that more than half of the land in California is under federal jurisdiction.