Bursa governor’s workplace says 1,765 individuals have been evacuated as greater than 1,900 firefighters battle the flames.
Wildfires that engulfed Turkiye for weeks surrounded the nation’s fourth-largest metropolis, inflicting greater than 1,700 individuals to flee their properties and leaving one firefighter lifeless.
Fires within the forested mountains surrounding Bursa in northwest Turkiye unfold quickly in a single day on Sunday, inflicting a pink glow over town.
Dozens of extreme wildfires have hit the nation since late June with the federal government declaring two western provinces, Izmir and Bilecik, catastrophe areas on Friday.
Bursa governor’s workplace mentioned in a press release on Sunday that 1,765 individuals had been safely evacuated from villages to the northeast as greater than 1,900 firefighters battled the flames. Authorities mentioned 500 rescue staff had been additionally on the bottom.
The freeway linking Bursa to the capital, Ankara, was closed as surrounding forests burned.
A firefighter died from a coronary heart assault whereas on the job, town’s mayor, Mustafa Bozbey, mentioned in a press release, including the flames scorched 3,000 hectares (7,413 acres) across the metropolis.
Orhan Saribal, an opposition parliamentarian for the province, described the scene as “an apocalypse”.
Family members and mates mourn throughout the funeral of 5 rescue volunteers killed whereas battling a wildfire in northwestern Eskisehir province, in Ankara, Turkiye, July 24, 2025 (Yavuz Ozden/Dia Photograph by way of AP)
Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli mentioned fireplace crews throughout the nation battled 84 separate blazes. The nation’s northwest is beneath the best menace, together with Karabuk, the place wildfires have burned since Tuesday, he mentioned.
Unusually excessive temperatures, dry situations and powerful winds have been fuelling the wildfires.
Yumakli mentioned 2,000 firefighters are struggling to battle the wildfire within the space with the assistance of six firefighting planes and 4 helicopters.
“We’re going by means of dangerous instances. This doesn’t appear prone to finish in two or three days,” Yumakli mentioned, referring to the heatwave.
The Normal Directorate of Meteorology mentioned Turkiye recorded its highest ever temperature of fifty.5 levels Celsius (122.9 levels Fahrenheit) within the southeastern Sirnak province on Friday. The best temperatures for July had been seen in 132 different places.
The earlier nationwide document was set on August 15, 2023 in Saricakaya, Eskisehir, at 49.5C (121.1F), Anadolu information company reported.
At the very least 14 individuals have died in current weeks, together with 10 rescue volunteers and forestry staff killed on Wednesday in a fireplace in Eskisehir in western Turkiye.
Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc mentioned late on Saturday that prosecutors had investigated fires in 33 provinces since June 26, and authorized motion had been taken in opposition to 97 suspects.
