A helicopter with water in the fight to put out fires ravaging Turkey. Photo: Facebook / Bekir Karacabey
A fire raging on Turkey's Gallipoli peninsula may have unearthed the remains of fallen Anzac soldiers, the Returned and Services Association says.
The wildfire - one of a number of large blazes that damaged large swathes of the country this week - was brought under control on Friday (local time), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said.
Images of the site in northwest Turkey showed soot-blackened gravestones in a scorched garden looking out over the Aegean Sea, the Associated Press reported.
The RSA's Mark Compain said drone video of the fire damage looked similar to another wildfire there in 1994, which unearthed soldiers' remains.
"Bones, you know, littered the area that I was walking in around Quinn's Post and so all you can do is scrape a little hole and rebury them."
The RSA was asking that any remains found were respected and reinterred appropriately, Compain said.
About one in six New Zealanders who landed on the peninsula during the 1915 Gallipoli campaign - 2779 people - died.
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission said it would be some time before the scale of damage to the historical sites was known.
The commission, which cares for the graves and memorials of WWI Commonwealth casualties at more than 30 cemeteries on the peninsula, has evacuated its staff from the area.
It said in a statement that preliminary assessment of damage had begun, and it would provide more information as it became available.
"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."
Forty-five planes and helicopters, along with some 1400 forestry personnel, were involved in trying to contain the wildfires raging in three provinces.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said the fire was brought under control before reaching most of the Gallipoli memorial site. There had been no damage to the memorials at Chunuk Bair, including the New Zealand National Memorial.
There was some fire damage to the belt of trees and shrubs at the New Zealand Number 2 Outpost cemetery, and to some trees near the northern entry to the Anzac Commemorative Site, where the Dawn Service was held each year. The rest of the site was unaffected, the ministry said.
The spokesperson thanked Turkish emergency services who responded to the fire and said the ministry regretted any wider damage to the countryside.
They said MFAT's team in Ankara was in touch with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and Turkish officials.
APP reported that Turkish officials said the fire was started by a spark from electricity lines that spread through forested areas.
Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli said teams were still fighting 17 of 47 forest fires that were active on Friday, AP reported.
Innovative Travel specialises in World War I and II commemorative tours and managing director Robyn Galloway said the company would work with Turkish companies to assess when it was safe for people to visit again.
"Hopefully it won't be too long I mean, the area's obviously going to be very burnt out, but we're just going to have to wait and see."
Next year will be the 110th anniversary of the Gallipoli invasion.