One man confessed to having set four other fires on island of Evia as Greek authorities struggle to contain blazes
Fire department officials in Greece have arrested two men for allegedly starting wildfires on purpose, while hundreds of firefighters battled blazes that have killed at least 21 people in the past week.
One man was arrested on the Greek island of Evia for allegedly setting fire to dried grass in the Karystos area. The fire department said the man confessed to having set four other fires in the area in July and August.
A second man arrested in the Larissa area of central Greece was also accused of intentionally setting fire to dried vegetation.
Officials have blamed arson for several fires in Greece over the past week, although it was unclear what sparked the country’s largest blazes, including one in the north-eastern region of Evros, where nearly all the fire-attributed deaths occurred, and another on the fringes of Athens.
“Some … arsonists are setting fires, endangering forests, property and above all human lives,” Vassilis Kikilias, Greece’s climate crisis and civil protection minister, said on Thursday. “What is happening is not just unacceptable, but despicable and criminal.”
The minister said nine fires were set in the space of four hours on Thursday morning in the Avlona area in the northern foothills of Mount Parnitha, a mountain on the north-western fringes of Athens that is one of the capital’s last green areas.
A major fire was already burning on the southern side of the mountain at the time, and it continued to burn on Saturday. “You are committing a crime against the country,” Kikilias said. “We will find you. You will be held accountable to justice.”
On Thursday, police arrested a 45-year-old man on suspicion of arson for allegedly setting at least three fires in the Avlona area. A search of his home uncovered kindling, a fire torch gun and pine needles, police said.
The daily outbreak of dozens of fires has plagued Greece over the past week as gale-force winds and hot, dry summer conditions combine to whip up flames and hamper firefighting efforts. Firefighters tackled 111 blazes Friday, including 59 that broke out between Thursday and Friday evenings, the fire department said.
Although most were controlled in their early stages, some grew into massive blazes that have consumed homes and vast tracts of forest.
Storms were forecast on Saturday for some areas of Greece, and lightning strikes ignited several fires near the Greek capital. The fire department said 100 firefighters, including contingents from France and Cyprus, backed up by four helicopters, brought fires in four outlying areas near the Greek capital under partial control within hours. It called on the public “to be particularly careful” and to follow directions by authorities “given that intense thunderstorm activity is occurring in various parts of the country.”
The Evros fire, the largest fire in Greece, was burning for an eighth day on Saturday near the city of Alexandroupolis after causing at least 20 deaths.
Firefighters found 18 bodies in a forest on Tuesday, one on Monday and another Thursday. With nobody reported missing in the area, authorities think the victims might have been asylum seekers who crossed the nearby border from Turkey. Greece’s disaster victim identification team was working to identify the remains, and a telephone hotline set up for potential relatives of the victims to call. A man reportedly trying to save his livestock from advancing flames in central Greece also died on Monday.
More than 290 firefighters, backed by five planes and two helicopters, were battling the Evros blaze. Another 260 firefighters, four planes and three helicopters were tackling the Mount Parnitha fire.
With firefighting forces stretched to the limit, Greece called on other European countries for help. Germany, Sweden, Croatia and Cyprus sent aircraft, while dozens of Romanian, French, Czech, Bulgarian, Albanian and Slovak firefighters helped on the ground.
Greece imposes wildfire prevention regulations, typically from the start of May to the end of October, to limit activities such as the burning of dried vegetation and the use of outdoor barbecues.
Since the start of this year’s fire season, fire department officials have arrested 163 people on fire-related charges, the government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis said on Friday, including 118 for negligence and 24 for deliberate arson. The police had made a further 18 arrests, he said.
Source : The Guardian