CHP's Gökan Zeybek shares striking data on forest fires! The average over the last 10 years and 88 years draws attention...

Turkey has once again failed in its response to forest fires. While the fire in Bursa has yet to be brought under control, public reaction against the government has begun to rise.

Gökan Zeybek, CHP Deputy Chairman responsible for Local Governments, wrote in a post on his social media account that a total of 27 thousand forest fires have occurred in the last 10 years and that more than 257 thousand hectares of land have been reduced to ashes in these fires.

Highlighting that an average of 2,794 forest fires occurred annually between 2015 and 2025, Zeybek emphasized that the average number of fires over the last 88 years was 1,435 per year.

Zeybek listed the forest fires that have occurred in the last 10 years and noted that negligence has increased along with the fires.

Zeybek's series of posts is as follows:

"I decided to look back... It pained me. In the last 10 years, only fires and negligence have increased.

Between 2015–2025:

27,000+ forest fires.

257,000+ hectares turned to ash.

90% is human-caused negligence.

88-year fire average:

1,435 fires per year.

Last 10 years (2015–2025) average:

2,792 fires per year.

Number of fires in 2024 alone: Exactly 3,800 fires.

The most striking ones;

Summer of 2021

-2,793 fires.

-139,000 hectares lost.

-In just one year, more than 60% of the total of the previous nine years burned.

In the fire that broke out on the Diyarbakır–Mardin line in 2024:

-12 lives lost.

-78 people injured.

-Hundreds of animals perished.

-Villages were evacuated.

2025

-3,044 fires.

-624 new fires in the last 1 week.

-The largest one is in Bursa: 4 people lost their lives.

-19 villages were evacuated in Karabük.

A DESTRUCTION THAT CAME IN PLAIN SIGHT, WAS WARNED ABOUT REPEATEDLY, BUT WAS IGNORED EVERY TIME.

Scientists have been warning for years...

Climate change is placing Turkey at the center of the Mediterranean-type fire belt.

Drought is increasing, air temperatures are reaching 50°C, and humidity is dropping.

We cannot protect our forests against 21st-century fires with 20th-century plans.

A system based on fire prevention, not just firefighting, must be established.

Power lines frequently spark but are left unmaintained.

Construction in high-risk fire areas continues to increase.

Regions with the Most Fires (2015-2024)

(Number of fires, 10-year total)

• Muğla: 3120
• İzmir: 2817
• Antalya: 2234
• Kahramanmaraş: 1759
• Adana: 1505
• In terms of burned area: (Province / hectares)
• Antalya: 67512
• Muğla: 52686
• İzmir: 17751
• Mersin: 15104
• Adana: 12514

More than 7,000 villages and neighborhoods across Turkey are located in risky forest areas.

Buffer zones should be created between residential areas and forests.

Pressurized water systems should be expanded, and the initial response time to fires should be shortened.

Forest villagers should be included in the process – training, equipment, and support should be provided.

Combustible materials inside the forest (dry branches, grass, leaves, etc.) should be cleaned regularly.

Rural areas must be made fire-resistant.

All that happens is intervention: a reflex that comes late, that is late!"