Wildfire hits air force ammunition depot
Uncontained Thessaly fire forces numerous evacuations; ‘scattered flare-ups’ on Rhodes
A wildfire that was raging unchecked in central Greece triggered massive explosions at an Air Force ammunition depot, forcing the evacuation of several F-16 fighter jets from the air base where the depot is located.
Kathimerini understands that the ammunition depot contained, among other things, 1,000- and 2,000-pound (454- and 908-kilo) bombs for the F-16s as well as HARM (high-speed anti-radiation missile) air-to-surface missiles designed to target radar systems.
Reportedly, the depot was so fully packed that the firefighting systems did not work.
The air base, near the seaside town of Nea Anchialos, reportedly hosts some 70 Block-30 and Block-50 F-16s. Some of those planes started relocating to other bases across the country on Thursday afternoon. By Thursday evening, it was not yet known if all would be moved as part of a general evacuation of the base.
The fire in the area, in the region of Thessaly, has now become the most dangerous of the 124 blazes across the country, Fire Service spokesman Yannis Artopios said Thursday afternoon.
“There were 83 new fires [in the 24-hour period ending at 6 p.m. Thursday, the most in a summer fire period… the situation is extremely dangerous,” Artopios said.
The continuous flare-ups of the Thessaly fire led authorities to issue five urgent messages from 3.34 to 5.47 p.m. recommending the evacuation of 12 towns and villages, Artopios said, adding that police, the army, the coast guard and local authorities are assisting in the evacuations.
On the island of Rhodes, the site of this summer’s largest blaze, firefighters are controlling “scattered flare-ups,” the spokesman said.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, on a visit to Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou, declared on Thursday that most fires are “started by humans,” adding that even negligence is “unforgivable” and that “justice will be merciless.”
While there have been arrests of suspected arsonists, experts agree that most fires start as the result of negligence. One such fire started Thursday at a recycling site in the western Athens suburb of Aspropyrgos, but has been contained, Artopios said. Yet another fire requiring the intervention of firefighting planes started in the regional unit of Arta, in northwestern Greece.
