Bursa: Wildfires that have engulfed Turkey for weeks threatened the country’s fourth-largest city on Sunday, forcing more than 3,500 people to flee their homes and leaving two people dead. Greece, Bulgaria, and Montenegro are also battling blazes fed by unusually high temperatures, dry conditions, and strong winds.
According to France24.com, 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 the two western provinces of Izmir and Bilecik as disaster areas on Friday.
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. Yumakli said fire crews across the country confronted 84 separate blazes Saturday. The country’s northwest was under the greatest threat, including Karabuk, where wildfires have burned since Tuesday, leading to the evacuation of 1,839 people from 19 villages.
Aside from Bursa and Karabuk, a major fire was raging in Kahramanmaras in southern Turkey, the minister warned, highlighting the risk of growing winds potentially reigniting fires not properly watered down. Firefighters and rescue workers have saved thousands of livestock and pets left behind in the rush to evacuate. Local media also showed images of workers assisting wildlife caught among the fires.
Unseasonably high temperatures, dry conditions, and strong winds have been fueling the wildfires. The General Directorate of Meteorology reported that 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.
Fifteen 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 stated that prosecutors have investigated fires in 33 provinces since June 26, with legal action taken against 97 suspects.
In Greece, firefighters battled active wildfires in the country’s southwest and on the island of Kythera on Sunday, following a blaze that scorched the northern Athens suburb of Kryoneri on Saturday. High temperatures persist across much of the country, though winds have eased slightly. In Kryoneri, 27 residents were evacuated overnight with police assistance after some initially ignored warnings.
On Bulgaria’s southern borders with Greece and Turkey, as well as the western Serbian frontier, firefighters battled wildfires, prompting the government to declare the worst-hit provinces disaster zones. Residents across nearly half the country received a code red warning, the highest level. National Fire Service chief Alexander Djartov reported that 236 wildfires were burning, many fanned by strong winds, and aircraft from EU partners were expected to arrive for assistance.