Hundreds of firefighters backed up by aircraft are battling a wildfire burning out of control for the third day on the eastern Aegean island of Chios, with authorities issuing multiple evacuation orders.
Towering walls of flames tore through forest and agricultural land on the island, where authorities have declared a state of emergency and have sent firefighting reinforcements from Athens, the northern city of Thessaloniki and the nearby island of Lesbos.
By Tuesday morning, the fire department said 444 firefighters with 85 vehicles were tackling the blaze on scattered fronts.
Eleven helicopters and two water-dropping planes were providing air support.
Queensland-based McDermott Aviation, one of Australia’s leading aerial firefighting companies, that deployed six B214 ST helicopters to Greece in May, has joined the Chios frontline as the island battles with fires a third consecutive day.
Over 60,000 acres have been burned, mass evacuations, and flare-ups in hard-to-reach mountainous terrain.
“This is our fifth year in Greece,” John McDermott, Founder and President of McDermott Aviation said previously.
“When the call comes, we answer. We’re proud to stand with the Greek people again.”
Last year, McDermott Aviation’s fleet dropped more than 75 million litres of water during over 4,000 flight hours across 14 helicopters. In 2024, the company will have 15 helicopters stationed across Greece and around 50 firefighting personnel—many of them Australian—rotating throughout the season.
Neos Kosmos has contacted McDermott Aviation and is awaiting further comments on the Chios wildfires front.
The fire department has sent an arson investigation team to Chios to examine the cause of the blaze.
“We are faced with simultaneous fires in multiple, geographically unconnected parts of the island – a pattern that cannot be considered coincidental,” Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Giannis Kefalogiannis said Monday from Chios.
The Chios fire, which erupted across multiple fronts in Kofinas, Agia Anna, and Agios Makarios, has raised suspicions of coordinated arson.
Authorities have arrested two Georgian women—one in Chios, one in Piraeus—while reports of other suspects, including Turkish nationals, are under investigation.
“There are strong suspicions that something happened with purpose,” said North Aegean Regional Governor Kostas Moutzouris.
Greek firefighters, supported by 14 helicopters and four aircraft, including those operated by McDermott, have been battling the flames under extreme conditions, with winds reaching over 70 km/h. Over 600 personnel, including army, police, and volunteers, have been mobilised in what Minister for Civil Protection Yiannis Kefalogiannis described as a “titanic effort.”
Despite the scale of destruction to forest and agricultural land, no lives or homes have been lost. Kefalogiannis praised the swift evacuations and coordination of services, noting that 17 alerts were sent for the removal of residents across affected settlements.
Wildfires are frequent in Greece during its hot, dry summers.
In 2018, a massive fire swept through the seaside town of Mati, east of Athens, trapping people in their homes and on roads as they tried to flee.
More than 100 died, including some who drowned trying to swim away from the flames.
