Major wildfire in Bursa forces evacuations

Firefighting units from the Regional Forestry Directorate and municipal fire departments responded, while residents also joined the efforts to contain the blaze.

In a statement, Kestel Municipality said that firefighting operations were ongoing and urged residents to follow official warnings. “We request that residents of Ağlaşan and nearby areas comply with all official instructions and take necessary precautions,” the statement read.

Authorities began evacuating Karahıdır, a rural neighborhood in Gürsu, as the fire moved closer. Some residents in other nearby areas also left their homes on their own.

The General Directorate of Highways announced that a portion of the Bursa Ring Road was closed due to the fire. “The section between the Yıldırım junction and Turanköy junction of the Bursa Ring Road has been closed to traffic. Transportation is being redirected through the Erdoğanköy–Kestel section of the D-200 State Road,” the statement said.

Explosions reported

According to local media reports, the flames have reached the central areas of the Gürsu and Kestel districts. Bursa’da Bugün newspaper reported that the fire extended to stone quarries in the Karahıdır neighborhood, where explosions were heard.

Meanwhile, the Bursa Governor’s Office announced that ash fall had begun due to the wildfires. It advised residents to keep doors and windows closed despite the heat and to avoid storing flammable materials on their balconies.

Local resident Mehmet Uğur Yılmaz, who lives in İpekyolu neighborhood, described the scene, saying, “In the evening, we saw a small fire on the hill. It quickly intensified and jumped to the other side with the wind. Now the fire is huge. Everyone is panicking. We don’t know what to do," according to Anadolu Agency (AA) reporting.

Yılmaz estimated that 7,000 to 8,000 people live in the area. “The fire suddenly crossed over and surrounded us. We had no choice but to run. Only the response teams stayed behind. People were fleeing. What we experienced can only be described as hell,” he said.

Turkey has been going through an intense heatwave affecting much of the country, which led to 61 major fires across 15 provinces between Jul 4 and 22. Most of the fires were human-induced, which led to the arrest of 17 people over the past two weeks according to the Justice Ministry.

(VK)