More than 50,000 evacuated as Turkey wildfires rage

Rescuers have evacuated more than 50,000 people, mostly from Turkey’s western Izmir province, as firefighters battled a string of wildfires, the AFAD disaster agency said Monday.

“A total of over 50,000 citizens from 41 settlements have been temporarily relocated to safe areas,” AFAD wrote on X, saying 79 people had been affected by smoke and other fire-related issues, none seriously.

Of that number, 42,300 were evacuated from Seferihisar, a forested area near the sea some 50 kilometers (30 miles) southwest of Izmir, it said.

The fire began around midday on Sunday and grew rapidly, fueled by winds of up to 120 kilometers per hour (75 miles per hour), Agriculture and Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli said.

Footage on Turkey’s main TV stations showed huge areas of flame raging through forested areas, sending vast clouds of black smoke into the sky as water bombers flew overhead.

Overnight, around 20 evacuated homes were gutted by the blaze, with only the walls left standing, footage on NTV private TV showed.

Residents in the seaside village of Urkmez had on Sunday felled trees to create firebreaks and protect their homes as the flames advanced, a witness told AFP.

“Unfortunately, the wind is continuing to blow very strongly,” Yumakli said on Monday afternoon, saying more than 1,000 people were working to tackle the blaze alongside four planes, 14 helicopters and 106 firetrucks.

AFAD said another 3,000 residents were evacuated from Manisa, 40 kilometers north of Izmir.

Another 1,500 people were forced out of their homes in the southern Hatay region, where four helicopters, 211 fire engines and 540 firefighters were fighting a blaze some 10 kilometers north of the city of Antakya, the governor said.

Around 850 others were forced to flee from two other wildfires in northwestern Turkey, AFAD said.

Since Friday, 263 fires had broke out across Turkey, of which 259 had under control while efforts were ongoing to fight the remaining four, the agriculture and forestry ministry said.

Izmir airport, which temporarily suspended flights on Sunday, resumed operations, Turkish media reported.

Wildfires have ravaged nearly 19,000 hectares of land across Turkey so far this year, according to website of the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS).

Experts say human-driven climate change is causing more frequent and more intense wildfires and other natural disasters, and have warned Turkey to take measures to tackle the problem.