University Professor Arrested in Greece for Arson, Crete back on fire

Greek firefighters managed to bring the fire on the island of Crete under control on Thursday night. However, during the day, the fire began to spread again. At the same time, Greek police detained an arson suspect who was deliberately setting fires in another part of the country, Ekathimerini reports.  

Greek authorities sent additional forces on Thursday to the southern island of Crete, where 250 firefighters were battling a wildfire that forced the evacuation of eight villages in mountainous areas.

The fire engulfed olive groves, farmland and shrubbery, damaging irrigation networks, but did not pose an immediate threat to the busy resorts along the island's coast. The day before, a university professor who set the fires was detained in Greece. 

A spokesman for the Cretan Civil Defence said on television that no one was injured, but villages in the mountainous region of Amari had to be temporarily evacuated. More than 200 firefighters were deployed to fight the fire in Crete.

At the same time, the Greek Minister of Civil Protection said on Thursday that police had detained a 66-year-old man suspected of deliberately starting "four dangerous fires" in the suburb of Vary in southern Athens. He is allegedly a lecturer at the prestigious University of Athens. A camera recording found him guilty of the crime. However, he denies his guilt. If convicted, he faces 20 years in prison and a fine of up to €200,000.

More than 2,000 forest fires have already broken out in Greece during the current summer season, with local authorities warning that the risk of them occurring is the highest in the last two decades. The reason for this is the previous seasons; a mild and dry winter season, followed by a dry and hot spring, which literally dried up the vegetation across the country, allowing the fire to spread rapidly.