Multiple wildfires broke out across western and southern Turkey today, with the western provinces of İzmir and Manisa hit particularly hard due to strong winds disrupting aerial firefighting efforts.

In İzmir, residential areas were evacuated earlier and the blaze is now burning homes in Seferihisar district.

Agriculture and Forestry Minister İbrahim Yumaklı visited affected zones and received updates from local authorities earlier in the day. He noted that the Turkish State Meteorological Service had issued storm warnings for the Marmara, Aegean, and parts of the Mediterranean regions earlier this week.

“Despite these warnings, we experienced 77 fires today, 53 of which were outside forest areas,” Yumaklı said. “I want to stress that we are not just dealing with forest fires; we are facing a comprehensive crisis.”