The authorities in Turkey continue to fight four major fires - in Kestel and Harmancuk, Bursa district, in Karabük, Safranbolu district (northwestern Turkey) and in Kahramanmaraş (eastern Turkey), the Turkish state television "TRT Haber" reported, BTA reported.
In addition to the forest area, the fire in Bursa has also reached state housing in the city of Gürsu, built by the Directorate of Housing Management and Provision, better known as TOKI.
The fire in Bursa was accompanied by another tragic incident – A water tanker overturned on the road, killing three people who, despite the efforts of doctors at the hospital, could not be saved. It is not known whether the deceased were firefighters.
The field work with the participation of 1,777 employees and 688 vehicles continued throughout the night.
Due to the approaching flames, the residents of the “Aglaşan“ district in the city of Kestel were evacuated. Traffic on the Bursa Ring Road, which was closed last night, has been restored.
In the city of Oğhaneli, Bursa district, the fire that broke out two days ago and was under control yesterday, flared up again due to the wind. The Orhaneli-Harmancuk road has been closed due to the danger.
The fire extinguishing in Karabük continues for the fifth day. 14 helicopters, 1 plane, 122 fire engines and 17 bulldozers are involved in the fight against the fire. 1,225 employees are working on the ground. Residents of 18 villages and 50 neighborhoods and hamlets in the area were forced to leave their homes. Traffic on the Karabük - Ankara road has been restored.
600 people, 6 helicopters and 17 fire engines are participating in extinguishing the fire in Kahramanmaraş.
According to information published on the Facebook profile of Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç, 21 people have been detained in connection with the prosecutor's investigation into the cause of the fires over the past two days.
On July 26, 2025 84 large forest fires broke out simultaneously in Turkey, the Directorate of Communications of the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey announced.
The statement noted that Turkey has strengthened its firefighting capacity with strategic investments. A series of steps have been taken to help control the fire faster and modernize the systems.
The capacity for extinguishing and controlling fires by air has been increased. Drones, artificial intelligence systems have been included in the fight against fires, and training has been carried out in settlements near forests.
At present, Turkey has 25 thousand employees trained in firefighting and 132 thousand volunteers. The technical capacity by air includes 27 airplanes, 105 helicopters, 132 other types of aircraft, which can throw 438 tons of water on the flames.
With the introduction of 14 unmanned drones, Turkey is in first place in Europe and second in the world in this indicator, the Turkish Information Service emphasizes.
Built for 776 observation towers and 184 smart control systems, which allow a fire to be detected within 2 minutes.
The capacity to extinguish fires on land is made up of 1786 fire trucks, 831 machines, 2742 fire engines for initial fire control, or a total of 5359 vehicles actively put into operation in the forests.
Over the past 23 years, 4796 towers have been built in Turkey for monitoring and watersheds used to extinguish fires.
Despite the efforts made, the Directorate of Communications of the Presidency of Turkey recalls that firefighting should not be viewed only as a matter of technical and human resources, but should also take into account the climate change that both Turkey and other Mediterranean countries are facing.