Italian environmentalists point finger at arsonists after devastating wildfires

Environmental organisation calls for better wildfire strategy and stricter punishment of arsonists

The Tono area of Messina, Sicily, after a fire raged across the district. AFP

A leading Italian environmental organisation on Friday called on the government to better mitigate the risk of wildfires and enact stricter punishments for arsonists.

Fuelled by scorching weather and strong gusts of wind, wildfires have in the past weeks devastated large areas of several Mediterranean countries. Many local officials have said that they suspected arson.

“The fire emergency, aggravated by the ongoing climate crisis, is now chronic, as demonstrated by apocalyptic images coming these days from Sicily,” Stefano Ciafani, head of environmental group Legambiente, said in a statement.

The devastation brought on by wildfires in Sicily has made global headlines, as tourists were evacuated and airport services were disrupted.

“Every summer and at the same period, fires break out in our country, most often of malicious origin,” said Mr Ciafani, describing arson as a “scourge that must be stopped with prevention actions and targeted policies”.

The organisation's 10-point plan to address the issue includes proposals to integrate urban planning with fire prevention as well as better co-ordination between government bodies charged with fire management.

Legambiente's call comes in the wake of numerous complaints of arson in Italy, where a man was arrested on Thursday after being observed via drone setting fire to a remote field. The suspect was seen throwing rocks at the drone before fleeing on a scooter.

In Greece, officials have also complained about arson and investigations are under way. Tens of thousands of people have had to flee their homes on the islands of Corfu and Rhodes, where temperatures reached 45°C earlier this week.

Corfu Mayor Yorgos Mahimaris claimed that an arsonist had started the fires that sparked mass evacuations. Mr Mahimaris came to the conclusion after visiting three locations where fires broke out on Mount Pantokratoras.

His claims were echoed by Nikos Mouzakitis, a deputy mayor in northern Corfu.

“Suddenly, there was a fire out of nowhere … we have not slept for three to four days now to watch out for such incidents,” Mr Mouzakitis told state television channel ERT on Wednesday.

Theofanis Skembris, another deputy mayor in northern Corfu, echoed this view and said that four fires “started simultaneously”. Speaking to the BBC, he said: “We have to wait for the investigation, but their first unofficial assumption is that it was arson – fires can't start simultaneously in four different places.”

Earlier in the week, Vassilis Vathrakogiannis, a representative from the Rhodes Fire Department, told local news outlets that investigations were under way, but that “fires are set by human hands”, whether “it is due to negligence or fraud.”

In southern Greece, in the areas of Lakyvia and Anavyssos, police on July 17 detained a person suspected of arson after a blaze spread across 12 kilometres in only two hours.

On Friday, firefighters were able to contain the blazes as temperatures dropped and winds calmed along the Mediterranean coast. But scientists have warned that the respite may be temporary.

Legambiente said that in Italy, over 30,000 hectares of vegetation went up in flames between July 25 and July 27, out of a total of 50,000 hectares burnt since the beginning of the year. That is equivalent to 73,408 football pitches.

The region the most affected was Sicily, where over 40,000 hectares went up in smoke.

The group's research has also found that Sicily was a region with a high frequency of arson. In 2022, it registered 544 instances of arson, while in neighbouring Calabria, it counted 611.

Mr Ciafani said that the government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni needed to tighten penalties by extending the crime of setting forest fires to all types of vegetation.

“It should not be forgotten that it is essential to empower and involve citizens … above all with prevention and information,” said Mr Ciafani.

His call came on the same day that Italian scientists wrote an open letter to the media urging it to address climate change more openly instead of labelling the current heatwave as simply “bad weather.”

The omissions risk “fuelling inaction, resignation or denial of reality”, when solutions are at hand, namely “the rapid elimination of the use of coal, oil and gas, and decarbonisation through renewable energy”.