Forest fires in Greece subsided on Friday after nearly two weeks of raging, but emergency services struggled to prevent new fires from breaking out in the center of the country, where many people fled massive explosions at an ammunition depot on Thursday.
The fires, fanned by high temperatures and strong winds, have killed five people and destroyed homes, farms and factories, as well as devouring vast areas of forest, since 17 July.
In the stricken region of Magnesia, forest fires spread to an air force ammunition depot near the coastal town of Nea Angelos on Thursday.
The fire that broke out in the warehouse led to powerful explosions, and the coast guard stated that the citizens had to flee by land and by sea to Volos, the capital of the region.
A government official said fighter jets parked at a nearby military airport were removed as a precaution.
Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias said on Friday that he had ordered an investigation into the incident.
A spokesman for the fire department said that the firefighting teams exerted a “superhuman effort” but were unable to contain the flames that had flared up again in Volos and Anchialos.
Forest fires receded on the island of Rhodes, where more than 20,000 tourists and citizens fled from hotels and homes on the coast, after its fires devoured about 10 percent of the island’s area.
Firefighting teams are working in several locations for the eleventh day in an effort to completely extinguish the flames.