Türkiye’s wildfires persist as İzmir faces severe damage
IZMIR
Türkiye has continued its fierce battle against relentless wildfires on June 30, particularly in the Aegean city of İzmir, where intense flames swept through overnight, damaging homes, forcing evacuations in residential areas and temporarily shutting down the airport.
Fueled by strong winds and scorching temperatures, the fires spread rapidly across forested land between Menderes and Seferihisar districts, reaching residential zones.
One of the most intense blazes broke out between the Kuyucak and Orhanlı neighborhoods and continued overnight on June 30, jumping to a summer housing site.
Residents were evacuated as a precaution, electricity was cut and firefighting teams battled the flames from both air and ground.
By sunrise, the scale of the destruction became visible, dozens of homes were damaged or destroyed, and thick smoke blanketed the area.
Site resident Berkan Kaya described how the fire advanced swiftly.
“In just half an hour, smoke began to rise from within the site as the wind made everything worse. We couldn’t even recognize the place anymore.”
Another local, Görkem Yarıcı, noted that he arrived at the site with his wife to assist firefighting efforts during the night.
“There was no electricity or water when we got there. We tried to help with shovels, but the fire was too strong. Our backyard was completely destroyed.”
In response to the unfolding crisis, operations at İzmir Adnan Menderes Airport, located near one of the active fire zones in Gaziemir, were temporarily suspended.
Flights resumed once the threat to the facility subsided.
Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç announced that a suspect had been detained in connection with another fire in İzmir’s Buca district. The individual allegedly started the blaze using gasoline and is under investigation for “deliberately causing a forest fire.”
Tunç emphasized that inquiries into wildfires across Türkiye were ongoing and being conducted with “utmost diligence.”
Meanwhile, Agriculture and Forestry İbrahim Yumaklı said 77 wildfires had been reported alone on June 29, nine of which were classified as large-scale blazes.
In addition to İzmir, wildfires have also been reported in Antalya, Manisa, Sakarya and Bilecik provinces.
In Antalya’s Gazipaşa district, flames reached residential areas in Beyobası, damaging agricultural land and forcing at least one home to be evacuated.
In the northwestern provinces of Sakarya and Bilecik, 13 villages were evacuated after fires spread across provincial borders, fueled by wind.
Firefighting teams, supported by aircraft and dozens of personnel, continue to battle the blazes on multiple fronts in several cities.
