A wildfire in a Russian resort town might burn down Vladimir Putin‘s very expensive clifftop palace.
According to Russian news agency Interfax, there have been three large wildfires covering an area of about three hectares since yesterday morning.
The forests near the Black Sea have become very dry, making them easily catch on fire. The hot weather, strong winds, and flammable plants have made them like a box of tinder that can easily go up in flames. People think that someone intentionally started the fires.
Firefighters were summoned around 10am when smoke was spotted coming out of a forest near Dzhanhot farm.
At 6:45pm, the fire was controlled. However, two more fires started. The first fire was reported at 3:09pm on Rodnikova Street, and the third fire occurred in a forest near Mount Neksis Gelendzhik at 5:15pm.
The rich resort town is where the Russian president supposedly has a huge palace that measures 17,691 square meters, and it’s located on the Gelendzhik Bay.
The main building has a swimming pool, spa, and sauna as some of its facilities.
The complex also has a greenhouse, a place for helicopters to land, a palace made of ice, a church, a place for outdoor performances, a place to get gas for cars, a long bridge that is 80 meters long, and a special underground room inside the mountain where people can taste things.
A 40-year-old man has been arrested for setting a fire, but it is not clear why he did it.
The authorities have asked locals who have fire extinguishers to help fight the fire at Markotkh Ridge. 195 people have joined the firefighting efforts.
City administrators said on Telegram yesterday evening that if you have a backpack, fire extinguishers, and want to help firefighters in fighting a forest fire on the Markotkh Ridge, then you should join the firefighting efforts.
They said that an Be-200 amphibious aircraft from the Ministry of Emergency Situations has been sent, joining a firefighting plane and two Mi-8 helicopters already there.
According to a local news source in Krasnodar, Kuban News, strong winds of about 30mph are making the fires worse. The wildfires have already burned about 50 hectares since this morning.
The emergency ministry said that the fire went up the mountain. Right now, settlements and infrastructure are not in any danger.
The effort to put out the fire never stops, not even for a moment.
Although not officially confirmed, many people who have inside information claim that the palace known as ‘Putin’s palace’ belongs to the president.
Whistleblower Sergei Kolesnikov first told the public about a fancy house that was made specifically for Putin to enjoy. Since then, media investigations have uncovered more information about this mansion.
According to an investigation by Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s Anti Corruption Foundation (FBK), it cost around 100 billion rubles (£820,000) to build.
The Kremlin has been saying for a long time that it is not owned by identifiable rich people, but by anonymous elite businessmen.
General Gennady Lopyrev, who was 69 years old, passed away unexpectedly in jail. It is believed that he had confidential information about the palace.
He was sentenced to ten years in prison by a military court in 2017 for taking bribes and unlawfully having ammunition.