A fire broke out on the Greek tourist island of Hydra on Friday evening.
This forest fire was caused by fireworks fired from a yacht.
Thirteen people were arrested.
A forest fire on the Greek tourist island of Hydra, close to Athens, was started on the evening of Friday June 21 by the shooting of fireworks from a yacht, firefighters denounced this Saturday.
Thirteen people, accused of having caused this fire, were arrested today after the investigation carried out by the firefighters, and must be presented to the prosecutor on Sunday, according to a press release from the firefighters.
The “only pine forest on the island” affected
This fire “burns the only pine forest on the island, in a place that is difficult to access and has no roads”, castigated the island’s seasonal firefighters on their Facebook account. They also published photos of the flames swallowing trees and being flown over by helicopters loaded with water.
The fire was quickly brought under control and no longer threatens the Hydra forest. On the public television channel ERT, the island’s mayor, Giorgos Koukoudakis, for his part said “outraged that some people would so irresponsibly throw fireworks into a pine forest”. The councilor added that “the municipality would file a civil suit against those responsible for the fire as soon as the preliminary investigation is completed”.
Greece recently toughened penalties for arson. The perpetrators of the fires can now be sentenced to up to twenty years in prison and a fine of up to 200,000 euros.
On the Skai television channel, Mr. Koukoudakis also called on the authorities to act, stressing that “the island has no fire zones or forest roads” allowing firefighters to access certain areas.
A very difficult summer ahead
On Saturday, civil protection called for the greatest vigilance while the risk of fire “remains very high”, particularly in the Attica region, which surrounds the Greek capital, in the Peloponnese (south) and in the center of the country. Even the whole of Greece, accustomed to heat waves, has been preparing for weeks for a particularly difficult summer in terms of heat waves and forest fires, after having suffered the hottest winter in its history. .
-
Read also
Giant fires: New Mexico in state of emergency, 7,000 people evacuated
The Mediterranean country went through its first heatwave last week with temperatures locally reaching more than 44°C. It had already experienced devastating fires that caused more than twenty deaths and a two-week heatwave of more than 40°C, unprecedented in its duration, in 2023. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) , rising temperatures caused by human-caused fossil fuel emissions lengthen the fire season and increase the area burned.
