Hundreds of firefighters, supported by aircraft, are fighting a large wildfire that has been burning uncontrollably for three days on the Greek island of Chios in the eastern Aegean Sea. Authorities have issued numerous evacuation orders.
The fire has created massive walls of flames, consuming forest and agricultural land. A state of emergency has been declared on the island, and firefighting reinforcements have arrived from Athens, Thessaloniki, and the nearby island of Lesbos.
As of Tuesday morning, the fire department reported that 444 firefighters with 85 vehicles were combating the blaze across multiple separate locations. Eleven helicopters and two water-dropping planes were providing aerial assistance.
Emergency services have been issuing evacuation orders for villages and settlements in the affected area since Sunday, when fires started near the island’s main town.
The fire department has dispatched an arson investigation team to Chios to investigate the fire’s origin.
“We are faced with simultaneous fires in multiple, geographically unconnected parts of the island – a pattern that cannot be considered coincidental,” stated climate crisis and civil protection minister Giannis Kefalogiannis on Monday from Chios.
Authorities are “very seriously examining the possibility of an organised criminal act, in other words arson,” he added.
The minister also noted that police forces on the island have been reinforced, and military patrols have been doubled.
“Whoever thinks that they can play with the lives of citizens and cause chaos with premeditated actions will be led to court,” Mr. Kefalogiannis stated. “Arson is a serious crime and will be dealt with as such.”
Wildfires are common in Greece during the hot, dry summer months. In 2018, a devastating fire swept through the coastal town of Mati, east of Athens, trapping residents in their homes and on roads as they attempted to escape.
More than 100 people perished in that fire, including some who drowned while trying to swim away from the flames.
