Massive wildfires raged around Bursa, Türkiye’s fourth-largest city, over the weekend, forcing more than 3,500 residents to evacuate their homes.
On Monday morning, a dense fog of smoke and smouldering foliage blanketed the city, a grim reminder of the destruction caused by the blazes.
The fires have been fuelled by record-breaking heatwaves, unseasonably high temperatures, and strong winds sweeping across Türkiye and much of the eastern Mediterranean.
The extreme conditions have turned the region into a tinderbox, with wildfires breaking out in multiple provinces.
The death toll from the fires near Bursa rose to four late Sunday, following the tragic deaths of two volunteer firefighters.
According to local media outlet IHA, the pair died in hospital after their water tanker overturned while en route to combat the blaze.
Another worker had died at the scene of the crash, and a firefighter succumbed to a heart attack on Sunday.
These fatalities bring the nationwide wildfire death toll to 17 since late June.
Among the victims are 10 rescue volunteers and forestry personnel who perished last Wednesday in a devastating fire near the city of Eskişehir.
Forestry Minister İbrahim Yumaklı reported that Türkiye was battling at least 44 separate fires on Sunday.
He highlighted the fires in Bursa, Karabük in the northwest, and Kahramanmaraş in the south as the most critical.
While firefighters have managed to limit damage to residential structures, vast swathes of forest have been reduced to ash.
In response to the escalating crisis, the government has declared disaster zones in the western provinces of İzmir and Bilecik.
Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç announced that legal action has been initiated against 97 individuals across 33 provinces in connection to the fires.
The latest wildfires mark a deepening crisis in Türkiye’s ongoing battle against climate-fuelled natural disasters.
With temperatures continuing to soar and drought conditions worsening, officials warn that the risk of further outbreaks remains high.
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