Firefighters work to extinguish a wildfire in Bursa, Turkey, on July 27, 2025. SERCAN OZKURNAZLI / AP
Wildfires that have engulfed Turkey for weeks threatened the country's fourth-largest city on Sunday, July 27, forcing more than 3,500 people to flee their homes and leaving two people dead. Greece, Bulgaria and Montenegro are also battling blazes fed by unusually high temperatures, dry conditions and strong winds.
Overnight fires in the forested mountains surrounding Bursa, in northwest Turkey, spread rapidly, tinting the night sky over the city's eastern suburbs with a red glow. Dozens of severe wildfires have hit the country daily since late June, with the government declaring the two western provinces of Izmir and Bilecik as disaster areas on Friday.
Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli told reporters late Sunday that 3,515 people had been safely evacuated from villages to the northeast of Bursa as more than 1,900 firefighters battled the flames. The highway linking Bursa to the capital, Ankara, was closed as surrounding forests burned.
'Apocalypse'
