Official data from Greece’s Fire Service was brought into the spotlight by Greek daily Kathimerini on Wednesday, which revealed that one in two incidents of wildfires in Greece inĀ 2018 were caused by deliberate acts of arson.
This shocking revelation becomes even more disturbing if we add to this an additional 25.32 percent of wildfire incidents which were determined to have been caused by simple human negligence.
The unsettling figures reveal that fully three out of four wildfires which took place in Greece in 2018 could have been avoided.
Many farmers across Greece, especially those from the older generation, do not take into consideration the constant warnings from Greece’s Civil Protection not to burn refuse at their farms during hot and windy days in the summer.
Such incidents have caused repeated disasters which could easily have been avoided.
In the space of less than one month, five people have been arrested and most of them have already been charged with arson, demonstrating just how serious the problem of deliberate arson is in Greece.
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