Greece has criticized those responsible for starting fires and called them “arsonist scum” after police arrested 79 people for causing the wildfires that are destroying the country.
The Minister of Civil Protection, Vassilis Kikilias, said that some people tried to start more fires on Mount Parnitha near Athens.
The country has already experienced numerous fires that have resulted in the death of at least 20 people this week, and this fire is just one of them.
Mr Kikilias said that you are doing something illegal against the country.
“Mr Kikilias warned Greeks during a TV emergency briefing that bad people who start fires are putting forests, property, and especially human lives in danger. “
“We won’t let you get away with it. We will search for you and make sure you are responsible for what you did. “
Summertime fires often happen in Greece, and scientists believe that the growing number and strength of extreme weather events, such as heatwaves, are caused by climate change.
Stefan Doerr, who leads the Centre for Wildfire Research at Swansea University, explains that when landscapes become more prone to catching fire, either because of hot weather or lack of proper vegetation control,it becomes easier for incidents like arson to quickly escalate into wildfires that spread rapidly.
The police and Greek intelligence service EYP are looking into the events, according to a report from AFP.
A government representative named Pavlos Marinakis told a Greek TV station that out of 140 people arrested for wildfires, 79 were arrested for starting the fires on purpose.
Many firefighters in Greece are fighting dangerous wildfires.
The big fire that started on Saturday near the city of Alexandroupolis has become the biggest fire ever recorded in the EU, says European commissioner Janez Lenarcic.
At the moment, there are fires happening on Mount Parnitha near Athens. These fires are burning in a forest that is close to the capital city, and they are also putting a national park at risk.
Earlier this week, the bodies of 19 people, including children, were found near the Evros region in northeastern Greece. It is believed that these people were migrants.
On Monday, a shepherd died in the fires in the Boeotia region.
According to Mr. Kikilias, the country is experiencing its worst summer since fire-risk maps were published in 2009.
Thousands of people were recently compelled to evacuate flames that broke out on the Greek island of Rhodes as well as in other parts of the nation.