Bursa: Turkiye's wildfire crisis continued to escalate as new fires have broken out to reach Bursa, the country's fourth-largest city, forcing hundreds of residents to flee their homes. Bursa Governor Erol Ayyildiz stated that 1,765 people had been safely evacuated from villages in the northeast of the country, and more than 1,100 firefighters were battling the blaze.
According to Kuwait News Agency, the highway between Bursa and the provincial capital Ankara was closed due to the surrounding forest fires. Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yamukli mentioned that firefighters across the country faced 76 separate fires on Saturday alone.
In recent weeks, thirteen people have died in the fires, including 10 rescue volunteers and forest workers who perished on Wednesday in a fire in Eskiehir in western Turkiye. Yamukli indicated that the country's northwest was facing the greatest danger, including Karabuk, where wildfires have been raging since Tuesday.
The government declared two western provinces, Izmir and Bilecik, disaster zones on Friday.