Fireworks launched from a yacht in Greece sparked a forest hearth on the island of Hydra on Friday, the native firefighting authority has stated.
The blaze burnt the one pine forest on the vacationer island, which lies south of Athens, the authority wrote on Fb.
It has now been introduced beneath management, however with problem. As there aren’t any roads to the seashore, firefighters needed to entry it by sea, whereas helicopters dropped water from the air.
The reason for the hearth has prompted outrage in Greece, which is already battling a number of wildfires and is within the grip of its first heatwave of the 12 months.
“We’re indignant that some individuals so irresponsibly throw fireworks right into a pine forest,” Hydra’s mayor, Giorgos Koukoudakis, informed Greek broadcaster ERT.
He added that the town would search to take authorized motion in opposition to these on the yacht.
There has additionally been condemnation on social media – “wealthy individuals with extra money than brains”, wrote one individual.
Greece has been on excessive alert for wildfires since Tuesday, and authorities are bracing for a tough summer time as dry situations, sturdy winds and excessive temperatures are set to proceed.
On Friday, a 55-year-old volunteer firefighter died from accidents he sustained battling a hearth within the southern area of Ilia on the Peloponnese peninsula.
Summer season wildfires are frequent in Greece and scientists have linked the growing frequency and depth of utmost climate occasions, together with heatwaves, to local weather change.
However the nation additionally has an issue with arsonists – not less than 79 individuals had been arrested final August over lethal wildfires.
Earlier this 12 months, Greece introduced in harder arsonist legal guidelines, with perpetrators now dealing with as much as 20 years in jail and fines of as much as €200,000 (£169,000; $213,850).