By Rob Harris
London: Wildfires across Turkey threatened World War I memorials and graves on the Gallipoli peninsula on Friday as dry, hot and windy weather conditions led to a series of blazes.
At the site where an Allied landing was beaten back by Ottoman troops in a year-long campaign in 1915, the flames reached Canterbury Cemetery, where 22 soldiers from New Zealand are interred, north of the Anzac Lone Pine memorial.
Commonwealth war graves scorched by wildfires on the Gallipoli peninsula, in Turkey.
Images of the site in northwest Turkey showed soot-blackened gravestones in a scorched garden looking out over the Aegean Sea.
The fire was brought under control by Friday. Officials said it was started by a spark from electricity lines that spread through forested areas.
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission, which maintains graves and memorials to the dead from Britain, Australia, New Zealand, India and Newfoundland, in more than 30 cemeteries on the peninsula, said all its staff were evacuated from the areas and were safe. More than 7200 Australian soldiers are buried at cemeteries or listed as missing there.
“We understand several of our commemorative and operational sites have been affected,” it said in a statement. “The full scale of the damage is not yet known, but a preliminary assessment is underway. A full assessment is likely to take some time.”
“We understand this news may cause distress, especially to those with personal connections to those commemorated, but any damage will be assessed and work to remediate it will be undertaken as soon as it is possible to do so.”
The Gallipoli sites with the largest number of Australian war graves or commemorations are: Lone Pine Memorial (4223), Lone Pine Cemetery (648), Shrapnel Valley Cemetery (516), Shell Green Cemetery (397) and Beach Cemetery (294).
RSL Australia president Greg Melick said he understood that those sites had been closed to protect the community and to facilitate fighting the fires.
“We are confident that the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, local authorities and firefighters will do all they can to protect and rehabilitate the sacred sites and monuments, but we understand that the situation is serious and remain concerned,” he said.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese warned there was a chance the wildfires in Turkey may reach the graves of Australian soldiers at Anzac Cove.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
Turkey has mobilised dozens of aircraft, hundreds of vehicles and thousands of personnel to fight the fires.
The General Directorate of Forestry warned people not to light fires outside for the next 10 days due to the current weather conditions across western Turkey, warning of a 70 per cent greater risk of wildfires.
In June, a fire spread through settlements in southeast Turkey, killing 11 people and leaving dozens of others requiring medical treatment.
At a news conference with his New Zealand counterpart Chris Luxon, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Gallipoli was “sacred ground to both of our countries”.
He warned there was the possibility fires may reach the graves of Australian soldiers at Anzac Cove.
“Our thoughts today are with those who continue to care for those cemeteries, and welcome thousands of Australians who visit Anzac headstones each year, as they endure these difficult times.”
Fires have also sparked in other regions of Turkey, with Karacabey reporting a “superhuman effort” to bring a blaze in Göynük – over 400km from Gallipoli – under control.
Agriculture and Forestry Minister İbrahim Yumaklı said 1413 firefighters – supported by 14 planes, 31 helicopters and 265 land vehicles – had been dispatched to control another fire in Manisa, 300 km from the Gallipoli site.
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