Thirty-six hours after the fire started, the US Navy spokesperson announced gravely: the fire on the 'Ford' has completely spiraled out of control, and Norfolk Naval Base is undergoing an emergency evacuation.
This is the world's largest naval base, with fourteen piers and eleven hangars. The base houses a naval station, an amphibious base, and two naval air stations.
It can accommodate more than a hundred and twenty ships, and handle three to four hundred thousand aircraft sorties. Its repair shipyard alone is the largest of the US Military.
Should an explosion occur, the loss isn't just the 'Ford,' worth billions of US Dollars, but the base itself, with investments exceeding a hundred billion US Dollars, which would be a severe blow to US Navy power.
To prevent the 'Ford' from threatening the entire base, Admiral Alvin made a 'brilliant' decision—to blast the hull, create several large holes, and directly flood the fire with seawater in hopes of controlling the blaze.
