Turkey’s 2021 wildfires were a warning. Some lessons were noted, others not.
ANTALYA & MUĞLA – In the summer of 2021, Turkey experienced its worst forest fires in decades. Flames scorched 150,000 hectares of forest along the nation’s southwest Mediterranean coast and claimed the lives of eight people.
The effects of those blazes were still visible this winter, when Turkey recap visited Antalya and Muğla, the two hardest-hit provinces by the fires.
From a distance, black patches mark the lush, green Taurus Mountains like cavities. Up close, though, it’s possible to see new plants reclaiming lost forest lands as silver-green stems and new leaves begin to sprout from burnt tree stumps.
Still, the charred surroundings are stark reminders of past missteps and what happens when disaster preparedness does not keep pace with a changing climate.
Across the Mediterranean region, rising temperatures and shifting rain patterns are exacerbating wildfire risks. The 2021 blazes represent a warning for Turkey, which was unequipped and understaffed to quickly bring the fires under control.
And while some mitigation methods have since been adopted and fire fighting teams are now better prepared, locals and experts say the government needs to adopt more preventative measures ahead of the coming wildfire season this summer.
Recalling 2021, Seyit Gocakçı, a 56-year-old livestock breeder from the small town of Ahmetler in Antalya's Manavgat district, said his village mostly fended for itself as the blazes approached.
"There was no one by our side back then," Gocakçı told Turkey recap, referring to the lack of support from the government and related bodies.
Instead, Gocakçı and the villagers collected the money needed to pay for fire trucks and organized their own firefighting efforts. Their quick, collaborative actions proved effective. Ahmetler was not damaged and all village residents and animals survived. But Gocakçı said he now fears the summer seasons.
"The air is not the same," Gocakçı said, referring to climate change. "Rains have been changing. The world is not going anywhere good, but I'm not sure we are aware of the danger as Ahmetliler [residents of Ahmetler village] or as dünyalılar [residents of the world]."
Inadequate firefighting fleet
Dr. Doğanay Tolunay, a professor in the Faculty of Forestry at İstanbul University Cerrahpaşa, is also nervous about the summer fire risk, though he noted Turkey’s fire preparedness has improved since 2021.
Previously, both the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change and the General Directorate of Forestry owned no fire fighting aircrafts. They leased aircrafts on rental agreements through which about 40 aircraft, including 3 planes, were used for the 2021 wildfires.
While fighting those blazes, Turkey's limited air capacity became a major subject of public criticism. Many planes were found to be unfit for operation, and Turkey was forced to rent aircraft from other countries to support its firefighting efforts that summer.
"A lot has changed since then," Tolunay told Turkey recap. "Those terrible images from 2021 created a sensitivity among the public about wildfires. This sensitivity pushed officials to be more serious on the issue."
Now, state entities operate about 90 rental-helicopters and 20 planes. At the same time, the Forestry Directorate began collaborating with the Turkish military and police forces, which granted access to additional helicopters as backups.
In addition to upgrading its flying force, the Forestry Directorate recruited 5,000 staff in 2022 – after requesting 10,000 additional employees from the government.
"Not enough, but better than nothing," said Tolunay, noting only 3,000 of the 5,000 new hires went to firefighting positions. He said a lack of personnel remains a problem.
The Environment Ministry, Directorate of Climate Change and the General Directorate of Forestry did not respond to requests for comment.
Separately, while reporting in the area during the 2021 wildfires, Turkey recap observed that most fire trucks involved in firefighting efforts were operating with an insufficient number of workers.
Fire trucks generally need at least six people in addition to the driver, but most of the time, there were at most three workers per truck, which slowed firefighting efforts overall.
More recently, in December and February, forest workers told Turkey recap that work conditions had improved while also highlighting some remaining shortcomings. The workers withheld their names because public servant laws in Turkey prohibit unapproved comments to the press.
Human threats and beekeeper thoughts
Another mitigation method that was widely implemented after the 2021 wildfires was the banning of all human access to fire-sensitive areas during high-risk seasons. In ultra-dry conditions, anything from camping to cooking or cigarette smoking can start large forest fires.
To prevent such risks, police forces and jandarma – or military police – now enforce access bans on specific areas, which has minimized human threats in protected regions, according to Tolunay.
In one such area in Muğla's Datça province, a sign banning the entrance to the forest remains from last summer.
"Those help, but we need to change the mentality," said Alper Kuyucu, a beekeeper in his 40s from Datça village of Kızlan.
Kuyucu's family comes from a long line of beekeepers, and for them, the honey they collect is not a source of income but the sweet product of the life they choose to live and share with others.
Traveling with his hives around Datça and neighboring Marmaris – two Muğla districts well-known for their pine honey production – Kuyucu has spent his entire life in the region affected most by the 2021 wildfires.
"In some parts, nature started to take back what belonged to her," Kuyucu said. "But we won't stop our fight. There are new constructions everywhere. Deforestation does not stop. After doing all this, we cry when she [nature] lashes back at us.”
He added, “My bees have fewer trees compared to previous years, and we are responsible for that."
According to Kuyucu, from his childhood to the present day, much has changed in Datça in terms of air and soil quality. He said the current conditions were brought by humans and, therefore, could only be improved by humans – which is no easy task.
"I can't even convince my own neighbors not to use chemicals and to be respectful of what is given to us," Kuyucu said. "First, we should learn this. Fighting disasters should start much earlier. We shouldn't try to manage them after they happen. We should focus on the reasons [they happen]."
Mitigation plans
Durmuş Ali Arslan, the general secretary of the Antalya Metropolitan Municipality in charge of disaster management, told Turkey recap his teams have been trying to adapt firefighting efforts to the realities of a changing climate.
"We have been doing everything for the citizens affected by the 2021 fires, but we also focus on our climate change goals in general," Arslan said, pointing to some of the renewable energy policies his municipality has applied.
"A climate disaster is what we are facing,” he added.
In addition to new policies, Arslan said the current administration of the metropolitan municipality created a disaster plan.
"All of our units, all of our personnel, know what they'll do in case of another fire," Arslan told Turkey recap. "I hope we won't have one, but I also know that we'll have more. We'll be more prepared this time."
Still, climate scientists have long predicted the Mediterranean will be hit hard by rising temperatures and changes in rainfall, with some forecasting temperatures in southern Turkey will be similar to present-day Egypt in the near future.
Climate change risks have already reached critical levels and could become "catastrophic" for Europe without urgent action, according to the European Environment Agency's latest European Climate Risk Assessment.
Additionally, many areas in Turkey's Mediterranean and the southern Aegean regions are categorized as "extremely risky" during summer seasons, according to a forest fire risk map prepared by the European Union's Copernicus Earth observation program.
Dr. Tolunay underlines these risks and echoed the thoughts of Kuyucu and others by stating wildfire preparedness needs to be more firmly prioritized in Turkey to prevent the most severe threats from more frequent forest fires.
"The last wildfires created a chance for us to increase efforts in fighting fires," he said. "Yet preventive steps still need to be given due attention."
"We should focus more on the fires in the period to come," Tolunay continued. "Special education programs should be created for people living and working in forest areas. Tourists should be involved [in programs] in vacation resorts.”
“Measures should be taken ahead of the upcoming summer,” he concluded. “It'll be too late when the flames are everywhere again."
This newsletter is supported by readers via Substack and Patreon. Paid subscribers get full access to our recaps, reports, members-only Slack and more. We also have pun-tastic merch. All proceeds go towards sustaining our journalism.
Turkey recap is an independent news platform produced by the Kolektif Medya Derneği, an İstanbul-based non-profit association founded by our editorial team to support and elevate news media and journalists in Turkey.
Get in touch: send pitches, queries and feedback to info@turkeyrecap.com.
Diego Cupolo, Editor-in-chief @diegocupolo
Gonca Tokyol, Editor-at-large @goncatokyol
Ingrid Woudwijk, Managing editor @deingrid
Verda Uyar, Digital growth manager @verdauyar
Sema Beşevli, Editorial intern @ssemab_
Onur Hasip, Editorial intern @onurhasip
This article is part of a series of environmental reports produced with support from the Heinrich Böll Stiftung Turkey Office, and in no way can be interpreted to reflect the views of the Heinrich Böll Stiftung.