NERO Fire Brief: Sakarya, Taraklı Wildfire – Türkiye, June 2025
Date: 30 June 2025Author: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kadir Alperen Coskuner and Dr. Georgios Papavasileiou – European Network on Extreme Fire Behavior (NERO) Summary:Between 25–28 June 2025, nearly 150 wildfires erupted […]
Date: 30 June 2025 Author: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kadir Alperen Coskuner and Dr. Georgios Papavasileiou – European Network on Extreme Fire Behavior (NERO)
Summary: Between 25–28 June 2025, nearly 150 wildfires erupted across Türkiye amid prolonged drought, extreme heat, low humidity, and strong winds. One of the largest fires ignited near Hacıyakup village in the Taraklı district of Sakarya Province on the morning of 27 June.
Key Facts:
Name: Sakarya, Taraklı Fire
Date: 27 June 2025, 07:15 UTC
Location: Taraklı, Sakarya Province, Türkiye (Lat: 40.40182, Long: 30.41691)
Size: Estimated ~37 ha burned in 1.5 hours (fire ongoing)
Fire Type: Surface and crown fire
Fuels: Pine forests, shrublands (maquis), grass
Elevation: 500–600 m
Fire Behavior: High spread rate (~660 m/hour), pyroconvection, spotting up to 500 m
Weather Influence: Wind-driven, enhanced by drought and low humidity
Impacts:
The fire spread to neighboring Bilecik Province
7 villages evacuated
Homes, barns destroyed in Urgancılar, Büyüksürmeli, Kaşıkçı
Livestock losses reported
Context: Satellite imagery (Sentinel-2, NOAA-21 VIIRS) confirms rapid spread and intense thermal activity. Hot, dry surface air and moist air aloft fueled dangerous pyroconvective columns.
Figures:
Convection column (a) and image of the ongoing Sakarya-Tarakli fire (a). Source: AASentinel-2 True Color Optimized (TCI) and Shortwave Infrared (SWIR) composite images of the ongoing fire, captured on 27 June 2025 at 08:46 UTC, approximately 1.5 hours after ignition. These satellite images reveal both visible and thermal characteristics of the fire, offering critical insights into its early spread and intensity. Source: ESA – Sentinel-2.
NOAA-21 VIIRS True Color Corrected Reflectance (250 m) and VIIRS Thermal Anomalies (375 m, Day) for the western part of Türkiye on 27 (a) and 28 (b) June 2025. Source: NASA.
Damaged houses (a) and barns (b) caused by the fire. Source: Halk54Synoptic conditions during June 27-28, 2025, based on short-term forecast data from NCEP/GFS data. Panels a) and c) show geopotential height (contours) and the associated anomalies (shading) with respect to climatology (1979-2010). Panels b) and d) show the jet-stream position and strength (shading). Basic surface fire weather conditions for Sakarya Taraklı fire during June 27-28, 2025, based on WRF forecast data (at 2km horizontal resolution) from the FLAME – Fire Meteorology Group of the National Observatory of Athens. The red line shows temperature at 2m (˚C), the blue line shows relative humidity at 2m (%), and the green line shows wind speed at 10m (km/h).Satellite image of the brief formation of a pyroCu cloud on June 27, 2025, as seen from EUMETSAT’s MTG satellite.Atmospheric profile and dynamic and thermodynamic diagnostics for June 27, 2025, at 15:00 based on WRF forecast data (at 2km horizontal resolution) from the FLAME – Fire Meteorology Group of the National Observatory of Athens.
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