Turkey battles wildfires amid strong winds, heatwave

This photograph shows interior of a burnt house during a wildfire in Kryoneri, near Athens on July 26, 2025.[AFP]

Firefighters battled blazes across Turkey on Monday, as the country sweltered in a summer heatwave.

According to officials, wildfires over the past week have led to at least 14 deaths in Turkey and sparked the evacuations of 19 villages and more than 3,500 people elsewhere from their homes.

Turkey's latest heatwave peaked with temperatures above 40C across much of the country last week and even reached a record 50.5C on Friday in the far southeast, in Silopi, near the Iraqi and Syrian borders.

Firefighters battled blazes around the city of Bursa in the northwest, the Karabuk region in the north and the Kahramanmaras region in the south.

"Five fires have been brought under control in four provinces," said Agriculture and Forestry minister Ibrahim Yumakli.

But he said the efforts were hampered by strong winds that are fanning the flames.

"Given the size and intensity of the fires, the state's ability to respond quickly to such disasters is sometimes limited," he said.

"If there is wind, there are no planes and it takes hours, even days, for you to take control," he said.

In recent days, 19 villages had to be evacuated in the Safranbolu region in the north, and more than 3,500 people around Bursa.

A firefighter battling the flames died of a heart attack on Saturday.

Three more people died Sunday in an accident involving a water tanker truck that was used to battle a blaze, the Bursa governorate announced.

On Wednesday, a wildfire killed at least 10 forest workers and rescuers fighting a blaze near Eskisehir in western Turkey.

Across the Aegean Sea in Greece, where blazes have ravaged homes and sparked evacuations across the country this summer, firefighters on Monday worked to contain outbreaks after bringing dozens under control over the weekend.

"For the moment, we don't have an active outbreak, just a few disparate outbreaks," an official with the firefighters in Athens told AFP on Monday.

A heatwave that has gripped the country eased on Monday, but authorities maintained a heightened alert in several regions.

Over the weekend, 55 new fires erupted across the country, though all but five were brought under control.

Greece has endured heatwave conditions for a week, with temperatures passing 40C degrees (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in many areas.