Large swathes of the north Anzac battlefields have been burnt out by a major forest fire that broke out on August 15, damaging a number of cemeteries before being contained 400 metres north of Anzac Cove.

Fanned by winds of up to 60 kilometres an hour, the fire quickly moved into the densely forested land north-east of Hill 971 and Chunuk Bair, crossing over the ridgeline and down into the area fought over in the campaign’s August Offensive.

Much of the north Anzac area, running from Hill 971 and the Abdulrahman Spur running west off it through to the commemorative site on North Beach, has been burned out. The rugged nature of the terrain in the area meant firefighting crews on the ground only had restricted access, with much of the containment work conducted by air units. At the peak of the blaze, there were some 20 fixed wing and rotary aircraft deployed, along with more than 800 ground personnel and 50 firefighting vehicles.

Fire crews were able to prevent the fire from breaching containment lines from Chunuk Bair and down to Second Ridge, with the memorials and cemeteries along this line undamaged.

However, on the seaward slopes and coastal strip below the ridges, The Farm, 7th Field Ambulance, Embarkation Pier, New Zealand No. 2 Outpost, No. 2 Outpost and Canterbury Cemeteries were affected by the fire to varying degrees.

Also impacted was the Commonwealth War Graves Commission residences and workshops on North Beach. While commission staff were able to remove most of the vehicles from Anzac Base, there was extensive fire damage to workshop areas and equipment.

The fire was brought under control on August 16, though crews remained on the ground to dampen down hot spots for some days.

Report & photographs: Bill Sellars