Forest fires in Türkiye fell by 35 per cent this year and the area of forest affected dropped by about 68 per cent, Agriculture and Forestry Minister İbrahim Yumaklı told journalists on Thursday, NTV and Bloomberg HT reported.
Firefighters responded to 6,219 fires in 2026, of which 2,111 were forest fires and 4,108 were fires in rural areas outside forests, according to Bloomberg HT and the news site Muhabir. Last year there were 3,224 forest fires, NTV and Bloomberg HT reported. Fires burned 24,527 hectares of forest in 2026, and the total number of fires fell by 21 per cent, the minister said, according to both outlets.
Most fires caused by people
Yumaklı said 86 per cent of the fires were caused by people, NTV and Bloomberg HT reported. Negligence or carelessness accounted for 67 per cent, accidents for 16 per cent and deliberate acts for 3 per cent, while lightning caused 14 per cent, according to both outlets.
Two short periods caused most of the damage, the minister said. Teams responded to 260 fires between 29 and 31 July and to 147 fires on 7 and 8 September, and these two periods made up about 80 per cent of the burned area, NTV and Bloomberg HT reported. Wind was the main problem, reaching 63 kilometres per hour in Gömeç in Balıkesir province, according to both outlets.
Yumaklı said 64 per cent of Türkiye’s forests lie in the first- or second-degree fire-sensitive zones, NTV and Bloomberg HT reported. A new fire risk map using more than 40 parameters was used for the first time this year, and forest offices received warnings seven days ahead of high-risk days, both outlets said.
The ministry had 28,065 firefighting staff, 28 planes and 119 helicopters, as well as 14 drones for monitoring and early detection, NTV and Bloomberg HT reported.
Comparing countries, the minister said fires affected about 0.1 per cent of Türkiye’s forest area this year, against 0.54 per cent in Greece, 1.09 per cent in Spain and 1.24 per cent in Canada, NTV and Bloomberg HT reported.
Burned forest cannot be zoned, minister says
Under the constitution, land affected by forest fires cannot be zoned for development, Yumaklı said, according to NTV and Muhabir.
Tree planting on 11 November
Trees will be planted in all 81 provinces on 11 November, Türkiye’s National Afforestation Day, under the slogan "Breath for the Future, Peace for the World", NTV, Bloomberg HT and Muhabir reported. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and UN Secretary-General António Guterres are expected to plant saplings at a "Peace Forest" created for the COP31 climate summit in Antalya, according to NTV and Muhabir.
Sources
- Bakan Yumaklı orman yangınlarının bilançosunu açıkladı, bir söylentiye de yanıt verdi (NTV)
- Bakan Yumaklı, orman yangınlarının bilançosunu açıkladı (Bloomberg HT)
- Bakan Yumaklı 2026 Yılı Orman Yangını Verilerini Açıkladı (Muhabir)
Photo: Zeynel Cebeci / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
