Wildfires in Turkey

A fire event occurred near Pazarcık (approximately 14 km away) in Turkey, an area that experiences a range of natural hazards. An estimated 14.6K people live within 35 km of the event location, placing this in the "significant" population impact tier.

This event is a significant wildfire detected by satellite with a fire radiative power of 109 MW, suggesting active, intense burning across multiple detection pixels.

A new wildfire erupted between the districts of Kundu and Belek in Antalya, adding to a series of blazes that have recently hit Alanya and Muratpaşa, according to local outlet Antalya Hakkında.

The cause of the fire has not yet been determined. Firefighting teams from Antalya Metropolitan Municipality, regional forestry units, and security forces were immediately dispatched. 

Crews remain on high alert as strong winds raise the risk of the flames spreading to surrounding areas.

Residents in nearby locations were directed to safe zones as a precaution, while officials said the blaze turned night into day with its intensity.

Reports indicate that another fire broke out around 9 pm in the forested Komköy area of Aksu district. Multiple water tankers and firefighting teams were sent to contain it.

When the flames neared strawberry greenhouse farms, crews prioritized protecting the agricultural lands. 

The fire is currently advancing toward the sea and remains distant from residential neighborhoods, though teams continue intensive efforts to prevent it from spreading further.

Firefighters battled multiple wildfires across Turkey, with a large blaze in the northwestern province of Canakkale burning for a second day after hundreds of residents were evacuated in precaution.

Wildfires in Canakkale’s Ezine and Ayvacik districts were largely brought under control, but blazes in the city center in the southern part of the Dardanelles Strait were still burning, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli said.

Other wildfires in the northern province of Edirne and southern province of Hatay were completely brought under control while efforts were underway to battle another wildfire in the western province of Manisa, Yumakli said.

Turkey is facing one of its worst wildfire crises in recent history, with Çanakkale at the epicenter. 

The city's airport, as well as a part of the highway, was shut down due to the wildfires for several hours.

Massive fires near Sarıcaeli have forced the closure of the Dardanelles Strait, displaced over 15,000 people, and destroyed thousands of hectares of forest. 

Other provinces, including Bursa, Karabük, and Eskişehir, are also battling severe blazes, resulting in 17 fatalities and widespread environmental and economic damage. 

Temperatures in the region reached 33 degrees Celsius with a wind speed of up to 66 kilometres per hour, according to Turkey's meteorological service.

Prolonged drought, record heat, and strong winds have fueled the devastation, highlighting the urgent need for stronger wildfire prevention, response, and climate adaptation measures.

The fire, which broke out near Yigitler village and spread to a forested area under strong winds, had prompted precautionary evacuations in the villages of Sacakli, Ahmetceli, Doganca, Zeytinli, and Pitirelli.

A total of 654 residents were relocated to safe zones. Authorities reported that four suspects have been taken into custody as part of the ongoing investigations into the cause of the fires.

In Turkey, wildfires raged for a second day in the western province of Izmir, fanned by strong winds, Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli said. 

More than 50,000 people have been evacuated from five regions, including more than 42,000 in Izmir, Turkey's AFAD emergency management authority said.

Turkey's coastal regions have in recent years been ravaged by wildfires as summers have become hotter and drier, which scientists say is a result of human-induced climate change.

The 2024 Turkey wildfires were a series of wildfires that broke out in Turkey throughout 2024 and spread as a result of strong winds and dry conditions. 

Turkey faces wildfires across the country due to extreme heat, sometimes reaching above 40 degrees Celsius and wind.

As of 24 June 2024, the most impacted region was in Diyarbakır province, where a mid-June fire killed at least 12 people.

The fire started from the burning of crop stubble in rural Koksalan at around 22:15 TRT (19:15 UTC), and spread into five villages, including Yazcicegi and Bagacik in the Çınar, Diyarbakır municipality due to strong winds. At least 78 people suffered from fire-related injuries and smoke inhalation, with five people requiring intensive care. In addition, hundreds of livestock were killed.

Turkey has experienced 74 wildfires so far this year, which have ravaged 12,910 hectares (31,900 acres) of land, according to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS).

In Turkey, there have been 120 VIIRS fire alerts reported so far in 2024 considering high confidence alerts only. This total is normally compared to the total for previous years going back to 2012.

In Turkey, the peak fire season typically begins in mid-June and lasts around 18 weeks. There were 1,119 VIIRS fire alerts reported between the 5th of June 2023 and the 8th of April 2024 considering high confidence alerts only.

Late afternoon, the Black Mountain Lookout reported visible smoke on the Turkey Fire in the Pinos Altos Range on the edge of the Gila Wilderness. Due to precipitation over the last several weeks, the Turkey Fire has shown very little activity.   

With the recent rise in temperatures and drier conditions, the Turkey fire is showing slow growth on the east side of the Goose Lake Area and producing smoke visible from Gila and Cliff. Similar fire behavior is expected to continue until significant moisture falls in the area.

Maritime traffic from the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara has been suspended due to the ongoing forest fire in the Turkish northwestern province of Canakkale, the transport ministry and a shipping agency said.

"The traffic at Dardanelles was suspended for both directions on Tuesday at 18:45 (1545 GMT) hours due to the aircraft intervening in the forest fire in the region by safely taking water from the sea," Tribeca shipping agency said.

According to Tribeca, 15 northbound and 19 southbound vessels were stranded on either side of the waterway. It said one of the northbound vessels and five of the southbound vessels are substantial in size, measuring over 200 meters (656 feet) in length.

Agriculture and Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli said the forest fire had prompted the evacuation of six villages in its path.

A total of 19 wildfires have affected Turkey’s southeastern Hatay and Mersin provinces and Çanakkale province in the country’s northwest since July 16.

The Agriculture and Forestry Ministry stated that 12,384 hectares of forestland were lost in 2,043 fires in 2022.

More than two hundred wildfires burnt 1,700 square kilometers of forest in Turkey’s Mediterranean region in the worst-ever wildfire season in the country’s history. The wildfires started in Manavgat, Antalya province, and spread to other provinces such as Muğla, Mersin, and Aydın. The fires were fueled by a heatwave and drought conditions that were made more likely by climate change. The fires killed nine people and injured more than 800 others.

On the anniversary of PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan's expulsion from Syria on October 9, 1998, major fires exploded across Turkish cities on October 10, burning down approximately 400 hectares of forests, empty residential buildings, and several dozen animals.

A forest fire started in Sarımazı neighborhood of Belen district in Hatay Province, southern Turkey. The fire burnt 400 ha (990 acres) of forest within two days. The fire spread to İskenderun and Arsuz districts, affecting many residences, factories, and nearly 100 people. According to an investigation, the fire resulted from arson masterminded by İzzettin İnan, alias "Seyfettin," and Suvar Derweş, Kurdish militants in the Afrin Region, northwestern Syria. 

A devastating forest fire swept through the Marmara region, especially in the provinces of Bursa and Balıkesir, consuming more than 5,000 hectares of land and killing four people. The fire was triggered by a lightning strike during a thunderstorm. 

 A series of forest fires erupted in the Mediterranean region, destroying more than 13,000 hectares of forests and olive groves. The fires were suspected to be arson attacks by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a militant group that waged a separatist insurgency against the Turkish state.