Travel chaos as wildfires tear through holiday hotspot and ground all flights leaving 100s of passengers stranded

Daily Mail​

3 days ago

Wildfires have torn through a Turkish holiday destination causing chaos for tourists as hundreds of passengers are left stranded.
A huge fire ripped through the popular resort of Foça, İzmir, before strong winds fanned the flames and sent it towards neighbourhoods and residential areas.
One suspect has been accused of starting the fire when they allegedly set fire to their own house.
A man has been arrested and Turkish Jutice Minister Yilmaz Tunc accused the resident of 'causing a forest fire intentionally'.
Flights at İzmir Adnan Menderes Airport have been suspended following the wildfires.
Jets were prevented from landing or taking off as of 4pm local time, The Sun reported.
Hundreds of passengers have now been left stranded as a result of the fires.
Planes were seen dumping large amounts of water over the infernos in an attempt to fight the blazes.
Huge fires broke out in Izmir, Turkiye, causing travel chaos for hundreds of passengers
Residents watched on in horror as the fire spread into neighbourhoods
Hundreds of residents were evacuated from their homes as the inferno tore through residential buildings
Residents watched in horror as their homes went up in flames while firefighters spent more than 22 hours tackling the huge blaze across İzmir.
The major emergency response involved 625 personnel, including six helicopters, 46 fire engines, 9 bulldozers and 13 water supply vehicles.
Around 550 residents were evacuated from some 175 homes in Ilıpınar, Foça.
Four firefighters were reportedly affected by smoke poisoning, with two of them taken to hospital.
The exact cause of the fire remains unknown. Another suggestion is that the fire may have been caused by a high-voltage power line.
Governor Süleyman Elban urged residents to be cautious over the next few days.
He said low humidity and high temperatures could lead to more fires.
The governor said: 'We expect the next four or five days to be very hot, with strong winds and low humidity. These conditions are perfect for a fire.
Firefighters spent more than 22 hours tackling the huge blaze across the town
Four firefighters were reportedly affected by smoke poisoning, with two of them taken to hospital
One suspect has been accused of starting the fire when they allegedly set fire to their own house
'Everyone's life is at stake. We must all be extremely cautious.'
Wildfires were also reported in Kahramanmaraş, Bursa, Sakarya, Bilecik, Gaziantep, Bolu and Manisa this week.
Environment Minister Murat Kurum said 23 houses and 47 units in 3 villages were destroyed in forest fires in Bilecik, while 41 houses and 25 barns and warehouses were also severely damaged.
It comes after fires have devastated towns in Greece, where some regions have had to declare a state of emergency.
On Thursday, a violent forest fire devastated several seaside towns east of Athens, damaging homes and prompting dozens of evacuations in a popular destination for Greek and foreign tourists.
The fire broke around 12.30pm local time (9.30am UK time) near the towns of Palaia Fokaia and Thymari, around 30 miles east of Athens, and forced the evacuation of five villages, according to Greek firefighters.
It comes on the heels of another fire on the island of Chios - Greece's fifth-largest island - which as of Wednesday had destroyed more than 10,000 acres of land in four days.
Temperatures reached up to 40 degrees Celsius in the Athens region on Thursday, with forecasts indicating that the heatwave could continue until Saturday.
In the previous 24 hours, 45 fires had broken out in Greece, firefighters said.
A firefighting helicopter drops water while battling a blaze in the seaside area of Palaia Fokaia, south of Athens, Thursday, June 26, 2025
Thick smoke from a burning house fills the air as a wildfire burns in the coastal region of Palaia Fokaia, some 40km southeast of Athens, Greece, 26 June 2025
Earlier this week, hundreds of firefighters backed up by aircraft were battling a wildfire burning out of control for the three days on the Greek island of Chios.
Towering walls of flames tore through forest and agricultural land on the island as reinforcements were hurried in from Athens, Thessaloniki and the nearby island of Lesbos.
By Tuesday morning, the fire department said 444 firefighters with 85 vehicles were tackling the blaze on scattered fronts.
Eleven helicopters and two water-dropping planes were providing air support.
Emergency services issued evacuation orders for villages and settlements in the area, when fires broke out near the island's main town.
Apocalyptic scenes captured in images and videos showed firefighters battling the flames as the wildfires raged on, while thick plumes of black smoke filled the sky.
Other footage showed helicopters spraying water over smoke-filled fields.
The fire department has sent an arson investigation team to Chios to examine the cause of the blaze.
Firefighters try to tackle a wildfire burning on Chios island, Greece, June 23, 2025
A firefighting helicopter in action during wildfire operations on Chios Island
Greece has declared a state of emergency as wildfires burned for the third day in the island of Chios
'We are faced with simultaneous fires in multiple, geographically unconnected parts of the island - a pattern that cannot be considered coincidental,' Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Giannis Kefalogiannis said Monday from Chios.
Authorities, he said, were 'very seriously examining the possibility of an organized criminal act, in other words arson.'
The minister said police forces on the island had been reinforced, while military patrols had been doubled.
'Whoever thinks that they can play with the lives of citizens and cause chaos with premeditated actions will be led to court,' Kefalogiannis said.
'Arson is a serious crime and will be dealt with as such.'