Large-scale forest fire in Turkey: nearly 2000 residents evacuated

In the Turkish province of Bursa, a raging forest fire forced the evacuation of almost 1,800 residents from three villages. The disaster, driven by strong winds, rapidly engulfed the mountainous areas of Gürsu and Kestel.

As reported by TUT.AZ, Turkey's Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu stated that despite partial containment of the fire in the Gürsu area, the blaze still cannot be brought under full control. Around 1,800 firefighters and over 500 units of specialized equipment are involved in the large-scale firefighting operation.

Currently, traffic on the strategically important Bursa-Ankara highway has been fully restored, and no information about casualties has been reported.

It should be noted that earlier in the provinces of Mersin and Karabük, hundreds of local residents were also evacuated due to abnormal heat that provoked dangerous fire conditions.