Strong winds have fanned wild fires that threatened parts of northwestern Turkey, including World War I memorials and graves at the Gallipoli battle site.
On Thursday, a forest fire started late in Izmir’s Karsiyaka region with some inhabitants being forced to abandon their houses because of the danger posed by these fires.
Some people were evacuated
Izmir Governor Suleyman Elban expressed his concern for the village which was expelled following unsuccessful attempts using planes, helicopters as well as other vehicles to contain the fire in Karsiyaka district.
More than 1,000 firefighters were fighting the fire.
He said: “The intervention is becoming difficult as it is very close to residential areas. There is no loss of life until now.” “We have information that some houses burned. Since there are winds of up to 80 kilometers (49.71 miles) per hour now, we often have to stop the aerial intervention,” he said, adding efforts would intensify if and when winds eased.
Also Canakkale, Manisa and Bolu provinces in the northwest saw fires break out. According to what was reported by the Governors of Canakkale and Bolu several neighbourhoods or villages had been evacuated precautionarily
The graves at Gallipoli battle site were impacted
In addition, flames reached Canterbury Cemetery where New Zealand soldiers’ bodies lie after Ottoman troops pushed back an Allied landing since 1915 happened there on a peninsula.
Soot had blackened tombstones seen in photographs from north-western Turkey’s location.
While officials stated it was caused by an electricity line spark that went through heavily wooded areas that ignited it, on Friday the inferno was under control.
Wildfires have become a problem for Turkey in recent years due to hotter and drier summers caused by climate change according to scientists.
