ATHENS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd August, 2023) Greek authorities have detained 117 people since the beginning of the year on charges of forest arson, fines for which may be increased significantly, the country's Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Vassilis Kikilias said.
The country's authorities said that most of the fires have been caused by people and not solely by the abnormal heat, which hit Greece in early July.
"Since July 1 we have faced 1,470 fires. Since the beginning of 2023, 117 arrests for forest arson have been carried out, with 107 fires being caused by negligence and 10 deliberately," Kikilias told the Skai channel.
Fines for negligence leading to fire may increase up to 30,000 Euros ($33,000), equivalent to fines for animal abuse.
"We are talking about tenfold (increase), twentyfold, hundredfold, if necessary. The measure has proven itself effective against those few who have been cruel to animals. We must protect the majority from the minority who put our lives, our property and our ecology at risk," Kikilias said.
He also hinted at the possibility of using satellites to monitor emergency situations real-time and called fires a climate crisis affecting all Mediterranean countries.
An unprecedented heat wave hit Greece last month, causing temperature rise up to more than 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) and igniting multiple fires across the country. Fire on the island of Rhodes raged for ten days, prompting mass evacuations of local residents and tourists.
The fires in Corinth and Attica damaged 344 buildings, 112 of those have been declared dangerous to live in, the climate ministry said in a separate statement on Wednesday.
Temperatures started to decline in Greece last week following 15 days of extreme heat.
