There is no end to the battle with the flames in Smyrna of Turkey, as new fire It broke out yesterday (02.07.2025) near Zesme, a tourist destination after 24 hours of relative calm with strong winds making the situation difficult.
“The fire has not been under control,” warned at around midnight (local time and time in Greece) by Izmir (Smyrna) Governor Suleiman Elban, stating that “according to eyewitnesses and technicians on the ground, the fire was undoubtedly caused by a cable”.
According to NTV radio, the fire broke out early in the afternoon in a rural area and spread very quickly due to the winds to an adjacent forest area and in olive groves.
“High temperatures and wind make it difficult for the fire to control the fire,” the radio station said as firefighters continued their work in the night.
A motorway connecting Smyrna, the third largest city in the country, with Cesme, a popular spa town of 80 kilometers west, closed in both directions.
01.25: Germiyan – Reisdere Road, Germiyan Houses@Merihak
– Izmir Weather (@izmirhavadurmu) July 2, 2025
In communities threatened by the flames, residents had to be expelled in a hurry, a photographer in the French agency said.
The severity of wind and fire in Çeşme is scary. pic.twitter.com/jNTbYzwZLJ
– Izmirgibiyiz (@izmirgibiyiz) July 2, 2025
There has been no talk of victims so far from a source.
The Municipality of Chemes said through X that gathering points and reception centers have been organized.
Fire reached the settlements in Çeşme. Where the word ends. So I don’t know what to say, we’re about to go crazy.#
– Izmir Weather (@izmirhavadurmu) July 2, 2025
In addition to the Fire Brigade and Civil Defense, volunteer groups and research and assistance organizations participate in efforts to address the disaster, the municipality said. The earliest and most respected search and rescue organization in the country, Akut, has published a scary photos, in which one sees hills burning the sky red.
In his most recent official briefing on Tuesday night, Turkish Minister of Agriculture and Forests Ibrahim Yumakli tried to reassure, assuring that the main homes had been “partially checked”.
Çeşme is on fire, paying, İzmir is burning… Where should this firefighters catch up? How should these people deal with these fires? Does anyone hear our voice?#
pic.twitter.com/IpVmbBjDbY– Izmir Weather (@izmirhavadurmu) July 2, 2025
But there were “conditions of extreme heat” this week and “heavy winds coming from Marmara, the Aegean and the Mediterranean,” he warned.
Hundreds of fires have occurred in Turkey since last Friday due to a combination of high temperatures, drought and winds.
Some fifty thousand people had to move away from their homes in Izmir and Hatay (south) provinces, according to the Turkish AFAD emergency.