Wildfire in Greece prompts evacuation while firefighters tackle blazes in Turkey and Syria

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ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A new wildfire in Greece prompted evacuations in coastal areas south of Athens of Friday, as firefighters in neighboring Turkey remained locked in a battle to contain flames tearing through forested hillsides in the west of the country.

Wildfires that broke out in at least five locations across Turkey’s Aegean coastal province of İzmir — fueled by soaring temperatures, strong winds, and low humidity — have killed two people, forced the evacuation of tens of thousands and damaged some 200 homes.

Forestry Minister İbrahim Yumakli said Friday that firefighters, supported by water-dropping aircraft, remained on the ground battling a deadly wildfire near the town of Odemis for a third day. Elsewhere, emergency crews worked to halt the spread of a new blaze that broke out late Thursday near the district of Buca.

The fire near Odemis claimed two lives — a forestry worker who died Thursday trying to contain the flames, and an 81-year-old resident who succumbed to smoke inhalation, according to authorities.

“Our intense air and land fight to control the fires in Odemis and Buca,” continues, the minister said on X, without providing further details.

A wildfire that broke out Wednesday near the popular vacation destination of Cesme was contained Friday, Yumakli said. The fire prompted the evacuation of three neighborhoods and caused temporary road closures.

Fires flared on both sides of the Turkish-Syrian frontier on Friday, with a new blaze reported near the town of Dortyol in Turkey’s border province of Hatay — as Syrian crews struggled to contain wildfires sweeping through Syria’s coastal Latakia province.

Turkey’s state-run news agency reported that the Hatay blaze broke out near a residential area and rapidly intensified due to strong winds.

In Syria, the wildfires spread across large swaths of mountainous areas amid a surge in temperatures and high winds, according to Syria’s Civil Defense. It added that conditions have hampered efforts to bring the fire under control, and expressed concerns over the presence of some unexploded ordnance from the country’s past conflicts in some of the areas.

Firefighting teams from other provinces were deployed to assist, but the blaze remained active. No casualties have been immediately reported.

In Greece, authorities on Friday deployed eight helicopters and eight water-dropping planes to contain the new fire that erupted in Koropi, some 35 kilometers (22 miles) south of the capital.

The blaze follows a separate fire outside Athens and a coastal wildfire on the island of Crete, where more than 5,000 tourists, hotel workers and residents were evacuated from seaside areas on the south coast. Several hundred firefighters remained deployed there to prevent flare ups due to strong winds.

Several areas of the country remain on alert due to the adverse weather conditions.

Local authorities in Crete estimate that the wildfire has burned approximately 15 square kilometers (3,700 acres) of land.

Abdulkafi Kayal, spokesperson for the Syrian Civil Defense in Latakia, told The Associated Press that the fire has extended some 20 kilometers (12.4 miles), blocking access roads and making movement difficult for emergency crews.

“We urge residents living in these wooded areas to be cautious and temporarily leave these areas until the situation gets under control,” Kayal said, expressing concern over the risk to civilians in towns and villages.

Turkish officials have not provided an estimate of the total land area consumed by the fires.

Authorities said most of the fires Izmir were caused by faults on power lines. Yumakli blamed the blaze in Buca on sparks caused by construction workers using a grinder to cut through metal.

Summer wildfires are common in both Greece and Turkey, where experts warn that climate change is intensifying conditions.

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Gatopoulos reported from Athens. Omar Albam in Idlib, Syria, contributed.