Turkey Wildfires Threaten Fourth-Largest City, Forces Mass Evacuations - Details Here

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Wildfires that have engulfed Turkiye for weeks have intensified overnight, posing a direct threat to Bursa, the country's fourth-largest city, early Sunday.

Overnight fires in the forested mountains surrounding Bursa in northwest Turkiye has led to hundreds of people fleeing their homes.

Mass evacuation of locals

The Bursa governor's office confirmed on Sunday that 1,765 people had been safely evacuated from villages to the northeast of the city, AP reported.

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Over 1,100 firefighters have tirelessly battled the flames, which has also led to the closure of the highway linking Bursa to the capital, Ankara. Orhan Saribal, an opposition parliamentarian for the province, described the scene as“an apocalypse.”

Temporary reprieve amidst widespread devastation

While lessening winds on Sunday morning offered some respite to firefighters, TV footage revealed a landscape transformed into ash, where farms and pine forests once stood.

The firefighters have continued efforts to bring down the flames, AP reported.

Firefighters are working relentlessly to bring down the flames in Turkiye.

The country has been hit by dozens of wildfires daily since late June. Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yamukli said fire crews across the country confronted 76 separate blazes on Saturday.

Record temperatures fuel the crisis

The regular and intense fires are said to be fuelled by unseasonably high temperatures, dry conditions and strong winds.

The General Directorate of Meteorology reported Turkiye's highest-ever temperature of 50.5C (122.9F) in the southeastern Sirnak province on Friday. Additionally, The highest temperatures for July were also seen in 132 other locations.

Temperatures in Turkiye soar as wildfires keep spreading.

Yamukli said the country's northwest was under the greatest threat, including Karabuk, where wildfires have been spreading since Tuesday.

Deaths and legal action

Tragically, 13 people have died in recent weeks, including 10 rescue volunteers and forestry workers who were killed on Wednesday in a fire in Eskisehir, located in the western part of Turkiye.

Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said late Saturday that prosecutors had investigated fires in 33 provinces since June 26, adding that legal action had been taken against 97 suspects.

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The severity of the fires led the government to declare two western provinces, Izmir and Bilecik, disaster areas on Friday, the news agency reported.

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