Over 250 evacuated as massive forest fire engulfs Gallipoli peninsula, Turkey

On the Gallipoli peninsula, which borders the Dardanelles Strait, a wildfire blazed overnight, forcing more than 250 residents to evacuate. Turkish firemen were fighting to put out the fire on Sunday, according to officials.

The fire broke out on Saturday in the northwestern province of Canakkale and spread swiftly due to strong winds in the hills near the town of Gelibolu, on the beaches of the important maritime strait.

“As a precaution, 251 residents from five villages were relocated to safe areas,” Canakkale governor Omer Toraman wrote on X.

The footage showed massive clouds of smoke pouring into the night air as the hillsides were lit by dazzling flames.

Toraman stated that the region, which is a popular vacation spot for tourists visiting the ancient remains of Troy and the Gallipoli battleground where thousands of troops perished in World War I, has experienced a “extremely severe drought” over the previous year.

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While the weather has been generally average for this time of year, much of north-western Turkey was hit by severe winds in recent days, which eased off on Sunday.

Firefighters worked through the night, with 12 planes and 18 helicopters returning to the scene before dawn in a 900-person operation, the forestry directorate posted on X.

The authority in charge of the war memorials said on X that access to historical sites near the town of Eceabat had been closed “due to the ongoing forest fire”.

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On Monday, another fire on the other side of the strait forced 2,000 people to flee, with around 80 treated for smoke inhalation.

Several days earlier, another fire forced the evacuation of 120 people and the suspension of shipping through the Dardanelles Strait, which links the Mediterranean with the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea.

According to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) website, there have been 192 wildfires in Turkey this year, which have ravaged more than 110,373 hectares (273,000 acres) of land.

Experts say human-driven climate change is causing more frequent and more intense wildfires and other natural disasters, and have warned Turkey to take measures to tackle the problem.