site.btaTurkiye Continues to Battle Four Major Wildfires, 21 Detained in Fire Causing Investigations

Turkiye continues to fight four major wildfires, in Kestel and Harmancik, Bursa Province (along the Sea of Marmara, Northwest Turkiye), in Karabuk, Safranbolu District (Northwest Turkiye) and in Kahramanmaras (Mediterranean region, Eastern Turkiye), according to Turkish state broadcaster TRT Haber.

The fire in Bursa Province spread beyond forested areas and reached government-built homes constructed by the Housing Development Administration (TOKI) under a social housing programme in the town of Gursu.

Another tragic incident marked the fire in Bursa when a water tanker overturned on the road, leading to the deaths of three people, who, despite doctors’ efforts at the hospital, could not be saved. It is not yet known whether the deceased were firefighters.

Firefighting efforts involving 1,777 personnel and 688 vehicles continued throughout the night of Sunday to Monday.

Residents of the Aglasan neighbourhood in the town of Kestel were evacuated as the flames neared the residential area. Traffic has been restored on Bursa’s ring road, which was closed overnight.

In the town of Orhaneli, Bursa Province, a fire that initially broke out two days ago and had been contained, reignited due to strong winds on Sunday. As a result, the Orhaneli–Harmancik road was closed.

Firefighting efforts have been ongoing for five days already in Karabuk. The efforts involve an airplane, 14 helicopters, 122 fire trucks, and 17 bulldozers. A total of 1,225 personnel are working on site. Residents of 18 villages and 50 neighbourhoods in the area have been forced to evacuate. The Karabuk–Ankara road has reopened.

There are 600 personnel, 6 helicopters, and 17 fire trucks fighting the fire in Kahramanmaras.

According to information shared on the Facebook page of Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc, 21 individuals have been detained in connection with a prosecutorial investigation into the cause of the fires over the past two days.

On July 26, a total of 84 large forest fires broke out simultaneously across Turkiye, according to the Directorate of Communications.

At present, Turkiye has 25,000 trained personnel for fighting wildfires and 132,000 volunteers. Its aerial firefighting capabilities include 27 airplanes, 105 helicopters, and 132 other aircraft, capable of dropping a total of 438 tonnes of water onto the flames. With the introduction of 14 unmanned aerial vehicles for fighting wildfires, Turkiye ranks first in Europe and second in the world by this indicator, the Directorate of Communications added.