Wildfires in Turkey

According to an investigation, the fire was a result of arson masterminded by İzzettin İnan, alias "Seyfettin", and Suvar Derweş, Kurdish militants in Afrin Region, northwestern Syria.

[16] The fires are part of a larger series of wildfires, including those in neighbouring Greece, originating from a heatwave made more likely by climate change.

[17] Wildfires in the forests of Turkey are common in summer, principally in the Mediterranean and Aegean Regions,[20] however, May 2021 was the hottest May for over 50 years[21] and followed a drought, made more likely by climate change.

[39] On 14 August, a Russian Navy Beriev Be-200 fire-fighting plane, one of two hired since July to help those affected by the fires in Kahramanmaraş, crashed just before it was due to land.

[44] Government loan repayments were postponed for the injured, and damage payments were made and interest-free credit promised to small businesses.

[45] Opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu argued that an adequate supply of planes is essential as most fires broke out on the steep foothills of the Taurus Mountains where planes would have been more efficient at keeping the fires under control, and criticised the government by claiming that it limited the ability of the Turkish Aeronautical Association to bid.

[47] The mayors of the eleven CHP governed metropolitans made a joint statement offering to finance the costs of firefighting planes.

[46] The Turkish Aeronautical Association said that the 5000 liter capacity limit for tenders for firefighting aircraft should have been lower so they could have bid, but the president said they should have updated their technology.

[49] In August, President Erdoğan, while busing through disaster areas, threw tea bags at citizens, which was criticized by several opposition politicians, including Ali Babacan who said the act was shameful.

After the reason of their sorrow has been known throughout the Internet, South Korean netizens initiated voluntary seedling donation movement through ÇEKUD in the name of Kim Yeon-koung or Korea Volleyball Federation to help Turkey for 2021 Turkish wildfires.

According to ÇEKUD, six zones of "Turkey-Korea Friendship Forest" are made: 30,000 in Antalya, 40,000 in Nevşehir, 25,000 in Kilis, 15,000 in Istanbul, 30,000 in Muğla and 10,000 in Osmaniye, thus 150,000 donated trees among 580,000, in total.

[33] The state-run TRT World, among others, wrote quickly about the possibility of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey and many other countries) being behind the fires.

[71] Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu stated that they had "no security intelligence" yet to support the claim that wildfires were being caused by arson attacks.

The fire started from burning of crop stubble in rural Koksalan at around 22:15 TRT (19:15 UTC), and spread into five villages, including Yazcicegi and Bagacik in the Çınar, Diyarbakır municipality due to strong winds.

[76][77] The Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party criticized the government's fire response due to it only using ground forces when they claimed that water bombers were necessary to stop the conflagration before widespread damage occurred.