Minister calls out ‘arsonist scum’ as 79 arrested over Greece wildfires

‘You will not get away with it, we will find you, you will be held accountable,’ climate minister vows

Greek police have made 79 arson arrests after wildfires ripped through the country as ministers lambasted “arsonist scums”.

Devastating blazes have ravaged the country this summer, but recent fires in the northeast have been encroaching on the capital.

Twenty-one people have so far been killed in the fires in the last week, including two boys aged between 10 and 15.

Wildfires have ripped through Greece this summer, but 79 resulted from arson attacks (AP)

Civil protection minister Vassilis Kikilias said arsonists have attempted to start new fires on Mount Parnitha, north-west of Athens.

“You are committing a crime against the country,” Mr Kikilias said during a televised emergency briefing on Thursday.

He added: “Arsonist scum are setting fires that threaten forests, property and, most of all, human lives.

“You will not get away with it, we will find you, you will be held accountable.”

Government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis told Greek public broadcaster ERT that of 140 wildfire-related arrests, 79 were related to arson.

Fire brigades have been battling raging wildfires in Alexandroupolis (EPA)

Dozens of firefighting aircraft, including from other European countries, assisted hundreds crews on the ground trying to beat back multiple fires raging across the country. On Wednesday alone, firefighters battled 99 separate blazes across the country, authorities said.

Sixty firefighters have been injured battling the flames, fire department spokesman Ioannis Artopios said Thursday.

Advancing flames were heading towards the capital this week (AP)

In Greece’s northeast, a major fire in the Alexandroupolis area that forced numerous evacuations, including of the city’s general hospital, was burning for a sixth day with few signs of abating.

According to the European Union’s Copernicus Emergency Management Service, the Alexandroupolis fire had scorched more than 723 square kilometers (280 square miles) by Wednesday, making it one of the largest on European soil in several years. Copernicus is the EU space program’s Earth observation component and uses satellite imagery to provide mapping data.

On the outskirts of Athens, a major fire that destroyed homes in the foothills of Mount Parnitha on Wednesday was racing across the mountain’s forested slopes and threatened the heart of a national park that’s one of the last wooded areas near the Greek capital.