Turkey expands forest‑fire coordination, training and monitoring across regions
The Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) held a video‑conference review of its forest‑fire coordination trainings carried out in 51 provinces from 14 May to 18 June 2026. The program involved 21 instructors and 81 provincial AFAD directors and focused on risk reduction, early warning, inter‑agency cooperation and volunteer integration.
Since the training, several forest‑fire incidents have been tackled nationwide. In Kütahya’s Tavşanlı district, a fire near Elmalı village burned about 70 decares; response teams deployed 13 aircraft, one UAV, 25 soil‑compressors, 89 fire trucks, bulldozers and 279 personnel. Similar operations were reported in Balıkesir, Tekirdağ, Antalya and İzmir, with helicopters, aircraft, arazöz units and dozens of fire‑fighters containing the blazes.
Regional fire‑watch towers are operating 24‑hour shifts: Muğla and Aydın host 51 surveillance towers equipped with smoke‑sensitive cameras, while Kastamonu maintains continuous observation posts and uses AI‑assisted video analysis. A Munich‑based startup, OroraTech, announced an AI‑driven thermal‑satellite system that can detect fires within minutes and plans to monitor 407 million hectares globally.
These combined efforts aim to improve early detection, rapid response and inter‑agency coordination to protect Turkey’s forested areas.