Particle.news
Download on the App Store
13 ARTICLES
·
10h ago

Fires Rage on Evia, Hatay and Latakia as Mediterranean Heatwave Intensifies

Record summer heat has driven flames that are stretching firefighting resources across multiple countries

Emergency responders with the Syrian Civil Defense, also known as the White Helmets, work to extinguish a wildfire in the town of Rabia, in the Latakia countryside, Syria, Saturday, July 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
Smoke billowing from a forest fire in the coastal Syrian province of Latakia on Saturday.
Syrian firefighters battle wildfires sweeping through the forests of Latakia, Syria, on Saturday.
Smoke rises into the sky during a wildfire in the town of Rabia, Syria, in the Latakia countryside, on Saturday.

Overview

  • The Evia wildfire remains active since July 4, prompting evacuations of Tsakeoi and Limnionas as over 160 firefighters, 46 trucks and five aircraft battle flames.
  • Turkey has contained the Odemis fire in İzmir province after it ravaged about 5,000 hectares but the incident has claimed three lives including a forestry worker who died from injuries.
  • Emergency crews continue to fight a separate blaze in Hatay’s Dörtyol district, where gusty winds have forced roughly 920 home evacuations near the Syrian border.
  • Turkey has dispatched two firefighting aircraft and eleven water support vehicles to aid Syria’s Latakia region, where unexploded ordnance and strong winds are complicating containment efforts.
  • Record summer heat and strong winds are intensifying drought conditions across the eastern Mediterranean, creating a wildfire hotspot that is stretching firefighting resources.