Wildfires in Turkey


in Turkey occur mainly in the Mediterranean and Aegean Regions due to their hot, dry summer between late-June and September.
Over thousands of years people have modified fire regimes by agriculture and forestry, such as by grazing animals and cutting down trees.
Nine out of ten wildfires are due to humans; the most common cause being carelessness, such as stubble burning, litter, hunting and cigarette butts. Nowadays urbanization and climate change are affecting wildfires, with the season extending to May to September. The 2021 wildfires were the largest since the creation of the republic.
More prevention effort has been called for: such as subsidizing farmers to mulch rather than burn stubble, and better thinning and cleaning of forests near buildings.

Locations

Most wildfire is in the Mediterranean region west of 38 degrees. Between 2014 and 2024 Antalya and Muğla Provinces lost the largest area of forest. The wildland–urban interface is mostly in tourist areas near the sea and forest villages inland.

Causes

Although the causes of about half the fires are unknown experts think that most fires are caused by human influence. Summers in the main wildfire regions have become hotter and drier due to climate change in Turkey.
Some say that too much forest land has been used for mines, hotels and infrastructure thus increasing human influence, for example because of new roads. From 2015 to 2024 over 20% of the area burnt was due to electricity distribution faults, and some have claimed the distribution companies are not regulated to do enough maintenance.
Some fires are caused by people burning stubble, which is illegal and it has been suggested that farmers be encouraged to do direct seeding.

Effects

Both Sentinel-2 and differenced Normalized Burn Ratio are good for analysing burnt area and severity. Wildfires can cause air pollution with PM 2.5.

Policy and prevention

Spending more on fuel load management has been suggested. Mediterranean Experts on Climate and environmental Change say that both social and technical innovation can help - technically through more remote sensing. Subsidizing farmers to use stubble as mulch has been suggested.
Although Turkish pines are fire resistant their cones can be thrown long distances and thus worsen treetop fires, which are the most dangerous. Therefore better thinning and cleaning of forest near buildings has been suggested.

Firefighting

is sometimes turned off. In 2025 experts said that there was enough air equipment but not enough ground forces.

Regeneration

Maquis can quickly regrow but is not legally protected.

History

2020

A forest fire started at Sarımazı neighborhood of Belen district in Hatay Province, southern Turkey, on 9 October. Within two days, the fire burnt of forest. The fire spread over to İskenderun and Arsuz districts, affecting many residences, factories, and nearly 100 people.
Government broadcaster TRT World said that the terrorist group PKK used wildfires as a strategy in the 1990s and that "Children of Fire Initiative, a PKK affiliate group, claimed responsibility for the fires in a statement published on Nuce Civan, an online pro-PKK publication."
the cause of most of the 21,000 ha burnt in 2020 is unknown: official statistics show about 200 ha of the rest was lightning, 700 ha intentional, and 8000 ha negligence or accidental.

2021

In July and August 2021, more than a hundred wildfires burnt nearly 1,600 square kilometres of forest in the worst-ever wildfire season in the history of the republic. The wildfires started in Manavgat, Antalya Province, on 28 July 2021, with the temperature around. The Manavgat wildfire was the largest for over a century. The fires were part of a larger series of wildfires, including those in neighbouring Greece, originating from a heatwave made more likely by climate change.

Background

The fires were some of several extreme weather events around the world in 2021.
May 2021 was the hottest May for over 50 years and followed a drought, made more likely by climate change. This was followed by near to above average June temperatures with positive temperature anomalies below and ample rainfall, however, this did not impede the fires in Kaş, Tarsus and Marmaris on 26 and 27 June. Much stronger heat followed in the second half of July, as some regions reached positive temperature anomalies of up to, and a temperature reading of was recorded as far north as Istanbul, where seasonal daytime temperatures would have been around.

The fires

measured the maximum daily heat intensity at about 20 gigawatts, four times the previous record in Turkey, and European Forest Fire Information System estimates placed the total area burnt at almost ten times the average for early August. Nine people died in the wildfires, at least two of them firefighters. Three deadly casualties were reported from the fire in Manavgat. 18 villages in Antalya and 16 villages in Adana and Mersin were evacuated. Most injuries were due to smoke inhalation. More than 4,000 tourists and staff in 2 hotels in Bodrum were evacuated by sea, by the Turkish Coastguard helped by private boats. Minister of Environment and Urban Planning Murat Kurum said that over 100 art museums would have to be demolished. The president declared parts of 5 southern provinces disaster zones.
The Kemerköy power plant in Muğla Province was evacuated on 4 August as a fire entered the plant. The same day some other people near Milas were evacuated by sea. Nearby Yeniköy power plant was also threatened by a fire. Rare summer rain in Antalya on 7 August helped bring the fires there under control, but those in Muğla remained serious, with 13 fires continuing in 5 provinces.
On 14 August, a Russian Navy Beriev Be-200 fire-fighting plane, one of two hired since July to help those affected by the fires in Kahramanmaraş, crashed just before it was due to land. There were five Russian servicemen and three Turkish citizens on board, all of whom perished in the accident.
Agriculture and Forestry Minister Bekir Pakdemirli said in July that three planes, 38 helicopters and about 4,000 firefighters had fought the fires. Drones were also used, along with 485 water tenders and 660 bulldozers. He also stated that more than 2,000 farm animals had died. The Disaster and Emergency Management Authority said on 29 July that 58 people were still in hospital. Ten people trapped at Oymapinar Dam were rescued. However, firefighting planes could only operate in daylight, and fallen trees blocked access to certain roads.

Effects

Air quality was affected. Most of the burnt forest was Turkish pine, which can generally regrow naturally.

Reactions

Domestic
On 3 August the Radio and Television Supreme Council warned media in Turkey not to be too negative in their coverage. Government loan repayments were postponed for the injured, and damage payments were made and interest-free credit promised to small businesses. Public access to various forests was banned until autumn. Opposition Republican People's Party Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu argued that an adequate supply of planes is essential as most fires broke out on the steep foothills of the Taurus Mountains where planes would have been more efficient at keeping the fires under control, and criticised the government by claiming that it limited the ability of the Turkish Aeronautical Association to bid. Later on, he said that the president had been ignoring the climate crisis and drought in Turkey. The mayors of the eleven CHP governed metropolitans made a joint statement offering to finance the costs of firefighting planes. Other opposition parties also criticised the ministry: Selahattin Demirtaş of the Peoples' Democratic Party called the government incompetent, and Good Party leader Meral Akşener said she had warned the ministry about the lack of planes the previous year. Pakdemirli said the ministry would buy firefighting planes before the end of 2021. The Turkish Aeronautical Association said that the 5000 liter capacity limit for tenders for firefighting aircraft should have been lower so they could have bid, but the president said they should have updated their technology. The president said that municipalities are also responsible for firefighting, but mayors said they had not been invited to crisis coordination meetings.
In August, President Erdoğan, while busing through disaster areas, threw tea bags at citizens, which was criticized by several opposition politicians, including Ali Babacan who said the act was shameful.

International assistance

The following countries responded:
  • Azerbaijan – 750 firefighters, 93 trucks, helicopter and plane
  • Kuwait – 45 firefighters and 6 trucks
  • Croatia – airplanes
  • France – airplanes
  • Greece – offer refused by Turkey
  • Israel – airplanes
  • Iran – airplanes
  • Kazakhstan – In August 2021, the Astana Times reported that helicopters from Kazakhstan helped extinguish forest fires in southwest Turkey.
  • Spain – airplanes
  • Romania – airplanes
  • Russia – airplanes
  • Belarus – airplanes
  • Poland – S-70i helicopter
  • Ukraine – airplanes
  • USA – 2 water dropping CH-47 Chinook helicopters
International Organizations:
  • European Union – 3 Canadairs from the fleet
    Seedling donation movement
Inspired by South Korean volleyball player Kim Yeon-koung after the Turkish team played them, South Koreans donated seedlings to the NGO, who planted "Turkey-Korea Friendship Forests".

Causes

of the nearly 140,000 ha burnt in 2021 the cause of a third is unknown, a third intentional, and a third negligence or accidental.

2022

On 24 June, a wildfire raged in the Bördübet region, near Marmaris on the Aegean Sea coast. On 13 July, a wildfire broke out on the Datça Peninsula. 450 houses and 3,530 people were evacuated from the area.