SAEDNEWS: Wildfires that have engulfed Turkey for weeks threatened the country’s fourth-largest city early Sunday, causing hundreds of people to flee their homes.
Overnight fires in the forested mountains surrounding Bursa in northwest Turkey spread rapidly, bringing a red glow to the night sky over the city’s eastern suburbs, The Independent reported.
Bursa governor’s office said in a statement Sunday that 1,765 people had been safely evacuated from villages to the northeast as more than 1,100 firefighters battled the flames. The highway linking Bursa to the capital, Ankara, was closed as surrounding forests burned.
Turkey has been hit by dozens of wildfires daily since late June. Forestry minister Ibrahim Yamukli said fire crews across the country confronted 76 separate blazes Saturday.
The fires are being fuelled by unseasonally high temperatures, dry conditions and strong winds.
The General Directorate of Meteorology said Turkey recorded its highest ever temperature, 50.5C (122.9F) in the southeastern Sirnak province on Friday. The highest temperatures for July were seen in 132 other locations, it added.
