Wildfires that have engulfed Turkey for weeks are threatening the countryβs fourth-largest city, leading to hundreds of people fleeing their homes
Wildfires that have engulfed Turkey for weeks threatened the countryβs fourth-largest city early Sunday, causing hundreds of people to flee their homes.
Overnight fires in the forested mountains surrounding Bursa in northwest Turkey spread rapidly, bringing a red glow to the night sky over the cityβs eastern suburbs.
Bursa governorβs office said in a statement Sunday that 1,765 people had been safely evacuated from villages to the northeast as more than 1,100 firefighters battled the flames. The highway linking Bursa to the capital, Ankara, was closed as surrounding forests burned.
Orhan Saribal, an opposition parliamentarian for the province, described the scene as βan apocalypse.β
By morning, lessening winds brought some respite to firefighters, who continued efforts to bring down the flames. However, TV footage revealed an ashen landscape where farms and pine forests had earlier stood.
Massive forest fire in GΓΌrsu, Bursa Province, Turkey πΉπ· (26.07.2025)pic.twitter.com/m5hIup38Zo
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