Turkey’s Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced on Friday that the western provinces of Bilecik and İzmir had been designated as disaster zones amid ongoing wildfires that have scorched vast swaths of forestland across the country since late June.
Natural disasters such as earthquakes, wildfires, floods, avalanches and landslides frequently disrupt life in various parts of Turkey. In order to mitigate the impact of these disasters and provide support for affected communities, the government officially designates severely impacted areas as “disaster zones.”
In a social media post Yerlikaya shared an overview of Turkey’s wildfires over the past month, saying the period between June 27 and July 24 involved mass evacuations, extensive property damage and a large-scale mobilization of emergency personnel.
He said a total of 85 temporary housing containers had been set up in the provinces of İzmir, Bilecik and Sakarya to accommodate affected residents and that emergency funds totaling TL 128.5 million ($3.1 million) had been allocated for damage compensation, with additional payments distributed to 396 households across seven provinces.
Yerlikaya further said that nearly 1,200 buildings in nine provinces had been inspected in the aftermath of the fires, with 311 homes, 16 businesses and 50 barns found to be either destroyed or severely damaged. In total more than 120 neighborhoods were temporarily evacuated, with some residents since then returning to their homes. The minister also reported the loss of livestock, including 49 cattle, 37 sheep and goats, 171 chickens and over 4,000 beehives.
According to Yerlikaya, security forces have launched investigations into a number of wildfire incidents across the country. Between May 1 and July 24, gendarmerie teams investigated 184 forest fires in 34 provinces, leading to 25 arrests and judicial supervision orders for 47 others. During the same period, police units looked into 56 separate fires, resulting in the arrest of two suspects and judicial supervision rulings for two more.
“It is vital that our people remain vigilant to protect our forests during these hot summer days,” Yerlikaya said on X.
Wildfires continued to burn across several provinces on Friday, with evacuations ordered in parts of Karabük, Eskişehir, Bilecik and Sakarya. In Eskişehir, farmers dug trenches to stop the flames as strong winds hampered efforts to contain the blaze, which had extended into neighboring Afyonkarahisar. Ten villages were evacuated in Karabük, while fires in parts of İzmir and Manisa were brought under control. Officials warn that wildfire risk remains critically high nationwide.
The developments follow a wildfire near the central Turkish city of Eskişehir that claimed the lives of 10 forestry workers and rescue personnel earlier this week, triggering a wave of national grief and anger. The victims were reportedly part of a team battling the blaze when they became trapped by fast-moving flames, according to local authorities.
Speaking to reporters about the wildfires following Friday prayer, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said the country was facing a “massive disaster.” He said 27 firefighting aircraft and 105 helicopters were currently engaged in efforts to contain the blazes, supported by 6,000 land vehicles and 25,000 personnel.
“Unfortunately, we lost our martyrs,” Erdoğan said, referring to the 10 people who perished in Eskişehir. “Our heroes, trapped in a ring of fire, could not escape.”
Meanwhile, the European Parliament’s Turkey rapporteur, Nacho Sanchez Amor, on Friday extended condolences for those who died in Eskişehir, saying that the fatal wildfire underscored a growing environmental threat.
“Extreme wildfires are becoming a dreadful challenge across the Mediterranean basin, driven also by climate change,” he said, calling for stronger cooperation between Turkey and the European Union to confront the crisis.
Extreme wildfires are becoming a dreadful challenge across the Mediterranean basin, driven also by climate change. This week 10 brave forest workers tragically lost their lives in #Eskişehir. My deepest condolences. 🇪🇺 & 🇹🇷 must strengthen cooperation to face this growing threat.
— Nacho Sánchez Amor (@NachoSAmor) July 25, 2025
The tragedy in Eskişehir reignited criticism of the government of Erdoğan, with opposition leaders and rights groups accusing the state of gross negligence, poor planning and mismanagement.
The criticism comes amid lingering public anger over the government’s handling of massive wildfires that ravaged Turkey’s southern and western coasts in the summer of 2021. That wave of fires killed nine people, destroyed thousands of hectares of forestland and lasted more than two weeks before being brought under control.
At the time Erdoğan’s government was widely blamed for its slow response and lack of firefighting aircraft. Turkish media reported that the country had only one operational firefighting plane and had to lease two others from Russia at a cost of 1.3 million Turkish lira per day.
Wildfires are common in Turkey’s Aegean and Mediterranean regions during the dry summer months. While some are caused by arson, most are linked to climate-related drought and heatwaves.