Nine arrested for sparking Greece's wildfires

Eight men and one woman were arrested by fire investigators for starting arson with intent or through negligence, and therefore contributing to the wildfires that have gripped Greece.

The Hellenic Fire Service said on Wednesday that in the last week alone, they were called upon to deal with a total of 1,185 fire incidents, of which 345 were forest fires and 840 urban fires.

Meanwhile, firefighters and volunteers were fighting a battle overnight to prevent the large front of the fire in southern Lesvos, between the villages of Polichnitos and Vrissa, from spreading to unburnt areas.

From 06:00 on Thursday morning firefighting planes began to operate in the area in an effort to get the fire under control by noon at the latest when strong winds are expected. It should be noted that today due to the expected strong winds, Lesvos is in category 4 on the fire risk forecast map.

At midnight, two people, a father and a son, were rescued from their farmhouse near Polichnitos, which was in flames.

The much improved picture of the wildfire in Dadia Forest is now clearly visible, the vice regional governor of Evros Dimitris Petrovits stated on Thursday to AMNA, referring to the wildfire that is burning for the eighth consecutive day in the National Forest of Dadia.

However, Petrovits clarified that today is a crucial day as, despite the firefighting forces' vigilance, there is always the risk of rekindling and there is a category 4 fire risk forecast for the area due to strong winds.

There were 320 fire fighters in the area, operating 75 fire engines, with 13 ground teams of fire fighters on foot, assisted by Hellenic Army troops and the regional authority's machinery, as well as two firefighting aircraft and seven helicopters in the air.

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