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Reuters
24-07-2025
- Climate
- Reuters
Firefighters struggle to contain wildfires in heatwave-struck Turkey and Cyprus
BILECIK, Turkey/NICOSIA, July 24 (Reuters) - Firefighters battled multiple wildfires across Turkey and Cyprus on Thursday that have scorched swathes of land, forced the evacuation of towns and villages and killed 10 firefighters in central Turkey amid a searing Mediterranean heatwave. At least six separate wildfires were burning across Turkey, and Turkish Agriculture and Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli warned that strong winds and blazing heat were creating extremely dangerous conditions. Late on Wednesday, Yumakli said 10 firefighters were killed while battling a fire in the central Eskisehir province, adding that 14 others were injured. Fanned by strong winds, the fire later spread to another central province, Afyonkarahisar. In the northwestern province of Bilecik, fires raged for a fourth straight day, as firefighters struggled to contain them. Residents were evacuated from fire-threatened areas of all three provinces, though some residents were later allowed to return to areas in Bilecik that were declared safe. "They couldn't intervene. There is no decent road, forests are thick and it's rocky. Helicopters don't work at night, and because they don't work, they couldn't intervene," said Cemil Karadag, a resident of the village of Selcik in Bilecik. "It engulfed our village from two or three sides ... It spread very quickly with the effect of the wind, but, thank God, (the centre of) our village wasn't damaged that much." In the Black Sea province of Sakarya, a wildfire erupted even as firefighters worked to contain another nearby. A key highway was shut due to the blaze, while some areas were evacuated. Another fire in the neighbouring province of Karabuk, where the UNESCO World Heritage City of Safranbolu is located, quickly grew and led to 10 villages being evacuated. A sixth blaze raged in the western province of Manisa. On the eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus, firefighters battled for a second day to control a massive wildfire, which engulfed mountain villages north of the city of Limassol. Two people were found dead in their car, trapped by the blaze which started on Wednesday. Scores of homes were destroyed as people fled a towering wall of flames overnight. Although the fire's cause was not immediately known, authorities said they would be looking into the possibility of arson. "It was sheer hell," said Father Michalis, a Greek Orthodox priest, who was forced to evacuate from Lofou village. After subsiding early Thursday, authorities were struggling to contain flare-ups around midday that were being stoked by strong winds. "When dawn came we saw a catastrophe of biblical proportions," said Kostas Hatzikonstantinou, who struggled to maintain composure as he stood outside his home, hollowed out by the fire which razed his community on Thursday morning. "It's an unspeakable tragedy for everyone ... Unfortunately, we'll no longer have this paradise that we enjoyed for so many years," he said. Cypriot government spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis said the authorities were focusing on fully leveraging "all ground and air forces" to control the blaze. "We are facing an unprecedented situation," he said. In addition to air assets from Spain, Egypt and Jordan, Israel has also said it would send assistance, he added. Aircraft from the British military bases on Cyprus were also assisting in the effort, while the EU said it had mobilised two aircraft to help operations. Ersin Tatar, president of the breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which is recognised only by Turkey and has been split from the island's south, said his government was ready to assist as well. Although heatwaves and wildfires are common in the region, their impact on human life along with the scale of destruction have become more pronounced in recent years due to shifting weather patterns.
Reuters
24-07-2025
- Climate
- Reuters
Firefighters struggle to contain wildfires in Turkey and Cyprus amid heatwave
BILECIK, Turkey/NICOSIA, July 24 (Reuters) - Firefighters across Turkey and Cyprus battled multiple wildfires on Thursday amid a searing Mediterranean heatwave that has scorched swathes of land and killed 10 firefighters in central Turkey. At least six separate wildfires burned across Turkey and Turkish Agriculture and Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli warned that strong winds and scorching heat were creating extremely dangerous conditions. Late on Wednesday, Yumakli said 10 firefighters were killed while battling a fire in the central Eskisehir province, adding that 14 others were injured. Fanned by strong winds, the fire later spread to another central province, Afyonkarahisar, while some towns and villages were evacuated. In the northwestern province of Bilecik, fires raged for a fourth straight day, as firefighters struggled to contain them and evacuated several villages. Some residents were later allowed to return to areas declared safe. "They couldn't intervene. There is no decent road, forests are thick and it's rocky. Helicopters don't work at night, and because they don't work, they couldn't intervene,' said Cemil Karadag, a resident of the village of Selcik. "It engulfed our village from two or three sides, they couldn't intervene ... It spread very quickly with the effect of the wind, but, thank God, (the centre of) our village wasn't damaged that much." In the Black Sea province of Sakarya, a wildfire erupted even as firefighters worked to contain another nearby. A key highway was shut due to the blaze, while some villages and towns were evacuated. Another fire in the neighbouring province of Karabuk, where the UNESCO World Heritage City of Safranbolu is located, quickly grew and led to 10 villages being evacuated, while a sixth blaze raged in the Western province of Manisa. In the eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus, firefighters battled for a second day to control a massive wildfire which engulfed mountain villages north of the city of Limassol. Two people were found dead in their car, trapped by the blaze which started on Wednesday. Scores of homes were destroyed as people fled their homes overnight from a towering wall of flames. Although the cause was not immediately known, authorities said they would be looking at the possibility of arson. "It was sheer hell," said Father Michalis, a Greek Orthodox priest who had to evacuate from Lofou village. After subsiding early Thursday, authorities were struggling to contain flare-ups at midday, stoked by strong winds. "Our focus right now is to control the fire, utilising to the maximum all ground and air forces," government spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis said. "We are facing an unprecedented situation." In addition to air assets from Spain, Egypt and Jordan, Israel has also said it would send assistance, he said. Aircraft from the British bases on Cyprus were also assisting in the effort. Ersin Tatar, president of the breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which is recognised only by Turkey and has been split from the island's south, said his government was ready to help as well. Although heatwaves and wildfires are common in this region, their impact on human life and the damage has become much more pronounced in recent years.
