Analysis of large-scale wildfires (≥500 ha) in Türkiye during the 2020 fire season

Forest fires are one of the disasters that directly or indirectly damage forest ecosystems in Türkiye and worldwide. Large forest fires can spread across extensive areas under extreme weather conditions, resulting in significant ecological and economic consequences. The initial fire behavior and suppression organization of large fires are critically important for the development of the fire. The success of firefighting is directly related to the ability and capacity of response operations. The importance of forest fire organizations is increasing in large fires. In this study, it was analyzed that forest fires exceeded 500 hectares in the 2020 fire season in Türkiye. The critical role of fire management structures in large-scale forest fires is becoming increasingly apparent. This study analyzes the operational and behavioral characteristics of major forest fires that occurred in Türkiye during the 2020 fire season and burned areas exceeding 500 hectares. The dataset included forest fire data, weather conditions, burned area, fuel types, initial attack time, fire control time, number of aircraft, fire vehicles, and topographic features. The correlation analysis revealed that both meteorological factors and operational variables significantly contributed to determining the final size of burned areas. Notably, there was a strong positive correlation between burned area (BA) and number of fire vehicles used (FWn) (r = 0.828, p <0.01, r = 0.828, p <0.01, r = 0.828, p <0.01), suggesting that larger fires require a greater mobilization of resources. This finding is consistent with previous studies emphasizing the importance of rapid and adequate resource deployment in effective fire suppression. Analysis of large fires will make an essential contribution to effective extinguishing strategies for preparedness against such fires that may occur. The study's results indicate the presence of significant challenges related to tactics, logistics, and coordination in the incident management processes of large forest fires.