Climate change-induced wildfires rage in Syria: Turkey sends firefighting aircraft across the border

Istanbul: Turkey sent two firefighting aircraft to help battle wildfires in neighboring Syria on Saturday. Turkish firefighters were battling a blaze on their side of the border and one person was reported dead in the country's west.

Eleven fire trucks and water support vehicles were also dispatched to help beat back flames in Syria’s northwest Latakia region, according to Raed Al Saleh, the Syrian minister of emergency and disaster management. He posted on X, saying “sudden wildfires in Turkey” delayed their arrival by almost a day.

Major fires blaze across Turkey

Turkey has been battling wildfires since June 26.

Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli said Saturday that firefighters successfully controlled 10 major fires in western Turkey, but an injured forestry worker had died, the third in the municipality of Odemis in Izmir province.

Authorities said most of the fires in Izmir were caused by faulty power lines.

Meanwhile, in Hatay province, which borders Syria, emergency crews continued fighting a blaze that broke out Friday afternoon in the Dortyol district near a residential area and rapidly intensified due to strong winds, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

Some 920 homes had been evacuated as a precaution against the advancing flames, Governor Mustafa Musatli said late Friday.

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said 44 suspects had been detained in relation to 65 fires that broke out across the country.

Climate change a driving factor

Fires that have hit Turkey, Greece and Syria over the past week have been fueled by soaring temperatures, strong winds, and low humidity. In Turkey, they led to the evacuation of tens of thousands of people and damaged some 200 homes.

The Syrian Civil Defense expressed concerns over the presence of unexploded ordnance from the country’s past conflicts in some of the wildfire areas.

Summer fires are common in the eastern Mediterranean region, where experts warn that climate change is intensifying conditions.

AP