Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias indicated that the details will be announced in the next month, but added that the fines for those who set fires intentionally or through negligence will be equal to those applied two years ago for animal abuse. These stipulate a fine of up to 50,000 euros ($55,000) and a maximum of 10 years in prison.
“I am forced to say that next fire season will see us in a very different situation. It’s not just the fines — the fines will be 10 times what they are now — but we need… a change of mentality,” Kikilias said in an interview with state television on Monday night. The changes, he said, will include educational programs and local initiatives to promote fire prevention.
Greece battled 10 wildfires last month, including ones on the outskirts of Athens and on the island of Rhodes, during three successive heatwaves.
More than 500 square kilometers (almost 200 square miles) of land have burned so far this year, more than doubling the total by 2022, according to the European Fire Information System, which tracks wildfires using satellite data.
