As wildfires rage across western Turkey, experts and lawmakers are pointing to aging, poorly maintained power lines — transferred to private operators in the late 2000s — as a driving factor behind the growing scale and destructiveness of the blazes.
The July 2025 fires in İzmir’s Çeşme, Foça, Seferihisar, Buca and Ödemiş districts have killed at least two people, destroyed homes and prompted mass evacuations. The fires, which have burned for more than a week, are widely believed to have been sparked by electrical transmission lines.
İzmir Governor Süleyman Elban confirmed the cause in a televised statement, saying, “The fires in Ödemiş, Çeşme, Seferihisar and Foça were caused by power lines.”
But the company responsible for electricity distribution in the region, GDZ Elektrik Dağıtım AŞ, issued a denial, saying there was “no concrete evidence” linking its infrastructure to the fires. The company’s response has sparked outrage, particularly in areas where residents say they have lived with crumbling electrical poles and flickering service for years.
One resident, Güler Nasuhbeyoğlu, a retired nurse living in Çeşme’s Ildır neighborhood, told the Evrensel daily that she narrowly escaped the fire and has repeatedly warned of the aging lines near her home.
“A year ago, a fire nearly started on our street. We reported it, but they never came to fix anything. GDZ only shows up to collect the bill,” she was quoted as saying.
Here’s the map showing all the wildfires that broke out in western Turkey over the past week. pic.twitter.com/kgoUEtCwC7
— Daily Turkic (@DailyTurkic) July 3, 2025
Privatization and neglect
GDZ Elektrik is owned by the Aydem Group, one of several conglomerates that took over regional power distribution after Turkey privatized the operation of its electricity grid in the 2000s. The move was billed as a modernization effort, but critics say it dismantled a functioning system and handed over critical infrastructure to politically favored firms that slashed costs and ignored safety.
Under the privatization model, the physical infrastructure — cables, poles, substations — remains state-owned, but operations, maintenance and billing are managed by private companies under long-term contracts. The government retains nominal oversight through TEDAŞ, the state’s Electricity Distribution Company, but experts say the watchdog is underfunded, understaffed and effectively sidelined.
“Private companies are calculating maintenance as a cost, not a responsibility,” Mahir Ulutaş, president of the Chamber of Electrical Engineers (EMO), told Evrensel. “They are not investing in inspections or modernization. That’s why every summer, our forests burn.”
EMO’s warnings have been echoed by environmental groups and forestry experts, who point to a consistent pattern: Power line-related fires have increased significantly since privatization. While just 4 percent of fires are started by electrical faults, they account for nearly 20 percent of total forested area burned, according to the General Directorate of Forestry.
In 2021 alone power lines caused fires that destroyed 13,000 hectares of forest in Muğla and Aydın provinces — about a quarter of the total damage that year. And the share of burned area linked to energy infrastructure rose from 17 percent in 2020 to nearly 30 percent in 2023.
Under Turkish law, transmission companies are required to maintain a 15-meter buffer zone free of flammable materials under and around power lines. They must conduct regular inspections, clear vegetation at least twice a year and cut power during high-risk weather conditions identified by meteorological and disaster agencies.
These rules are rarely enforced.
Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) MP Murat Bakan listed several violations by GDZ Elektrik in İzmir’s fire zones in a post on X.
Gedaş açıklama yapıyor neymiş yangın enerji nakil hatlarından çıkmamış buna ilişkin bir tespit yokmuş.
Alın size tespit.
İYTE’den Karaburun’a giden hat
•Hatların geçtiği güzergâhta en az 15 metre genişliğinde yangın tampon bölgesi oluşturulmalı. Var mı?
Yok.
•Bu alanlar yılda… pic.twitter.com/BKzuMzco5H— Murat BAKAN (@CHPMuratBakan) July 3, 2025
Sharing footage of a faulty line flickering, Bakan rejected GDZ Elektrik’s denial of responsibility.
The lawmaker pointed out that no fire buffer zones had been created, no regular cleaning or inspections had been conducted, and no power cuts were implemented despite critical fire risk warnings. “Every year we raise the same warnings, and every year no one listens,” he said. “Now İzmir has burned, and we’re left scrambling to stop the next fire.”
Speaking to Evrensel, EMO chairman Ulutaş agrees.
“When these systems were public, we had engineers, inspectors, coordination with forestry officials,” he said, emphasizing that with privatization, companies view these maintenance tasks as a cost item and that private companies do not have the technical infrastructure or sufficient engineers and technicians to carry out this work properly.
Experts say the government’s own agencies are complicit. TEDAŞ has failed to carry out its inspection duties, and no major sanctions have ever been imposed on energy companies for negligence, even in cases where deaths occurred. Forest fires caused by power lines are often labeled “force majeure” — an uncontrollable event — despite clear evidence of preventable causes.
The Aydem Group, which owns GDZ Elektrik, operates multiple regional distribution companies and has expanded rapidly over the last decade, acquiring licenses for thermal, hydro, wind, geothermal and hybrid energy plants. Many of these acquisitions came through tenders during the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) time in power.
The company has received generous state subsidies and incentives, but its safety record is marred by deadly incidents. In recent years fires in Marmaris and Datça were also traced back to power lines under its control. In 2024 two people were electrocuted in İzmir after coming into contact with flooded street infrastructure believed to be energized by faulty cables.
In its public relations material, Aydem describes itself as a pioneer in energy efficiency and safety. On the ground, many see something else: a company that has failed to maintain even basic safety standards in high-risk areas while continuing to profit from public contracts.
Turkey’s wildfires last night near Western coastal resort Çeşme. 45 injured. The roads out are now blocked by fire and police. These fires devastate everything in their path, disastrous for rural people and historical olive groves. pic.twitter.com/vlaNI4ullJ
— Liz Cookman (@liz_cookman) July 3, 2025
In İzmir, the death toll from the latest fires includes an 80-year-old man who was bedridden in his home and a forest worker from Konya who died fighting the flames. Thousands more have been displaced, and thousands of acres of forest have been reduced to ash. The Çeşme highway was temporarily closed as flames reached the road.
Izmir, Turkey is burning.
Villagers are fighting massive wildfires with their bare hands.
Homes are collapsing, forests are disappearing, animals are screaming in the flames.
This is not just a wildfire, this is a disaster.
And it’s not just Izmir. Multiple major cities… pic.twitter.com/66H0FEaHJN
— Seymirel (@Seymirel) July 4, 2025
Experts warn that unless Turkey reverses course, the cycle will continue. Climate change will intensify heat and drought. The fires will spread faster. And without proper regulation, enforcement or reinvestment in public oversight, private companies will continue to cut corners — until the next catastrophe.