K. Mitsotakis left open the possibility that the fire fronts in Penteli were due to arson

LAST UPDATE: 20.37

The prime minister left open the possibility that the fiery fronts of Penteli were due to arson, in his statements after the second visit in a few hours to the Coordination Center of Civil Protection.

“We cannot rule out anything. We will have more when the fire department completes its investigative work,” Mr. Mitsotakis emphasized. At the same time, he expressed satisfaction for the fact that in a fire with difficult characteristics, all the authorities did their best and with better coordination compared to the past.

“With this logic we will continue”, he said and assured the citizens who have been affected that the State will be on their side and that it will move quickly in recording the damages. “The evacuations took place with the greatest possible safety”, the prime minister pointed out and spoke of a much better level of organization.

The Prime Minister’s full statement reads as follows:

First of all, we had a very difficult fire yesterday in Penteli and I want to start by thanking everyone who selflessly fought the battle in the field. First and foremost our firefighters, our volunteers, our police officers, the citizens many of whom defied evacuation orders to protect their property.

It was a fire that, as the Minister explained, had very difficult characteristics. It started in Penteli but entered the urban fabric very quickly and with great speed.

And I believe that all the authorities did their best with a very quick and timely presence, with a great mobilization of the state apparatus and above all with a much better coordination compared to what we had seen in the past. We will proceed with this logic from now on. Right now we seem to have a fire in Megara. It is treated with the aerial, with the ground divisions, restrained optimism. As well as some fires in Salamis. But we must not forget that we are in a period where we have 50 to 60 fires per day. Most of them we never learn, you never learn them, because they disappear in their birth.
But, statistically, it is certain that some will escape and we will not be able to have the timely intervention that is required.

*Journalist:* Do we have a picture of the causes, President? Do you have a picture of arson or not?.

*Prime Minister:* We cannot rule anything out at the moment. We’ll have more when the Fire Marshal’s Office completes its work.
Certainly for Penteli the case of arson is not ruled out.

*Journalist:* The matter of those affected, Mr. President, whether the recording of the damages has begun and whether some measures will be announced for those who have lost property.

*Prime Minister:* Look, I want to assure all our fellow citizens, who are affected, that the state will be on their side with great speed and with great efficiency. I won’t hide from you that yesterday’s image of the fire at night made us more pessimistic about the extent of the damage.

It seems that the damage is limited and of course the state apparatus will move with great speed to rehabilitate our fellow citizens, those who lost their homes or those who suffered damage. But beyond that we cannot say anything more until there is a full record of the damage, which will be done very quickly.

I also want to highlight the fact that yesterday evacuation messages were sent to areas where almost 100,000 of our fellow citizens live. These evacuations were carried out in absolute safety, with the support of the Greek Police, so as to prioritize and protect the supreme good that is human life.

*Journalist:* Mr. President, are you satisfied – because we still have 1.5 months of summer ahead of us – with the operational plan as implemented?

*Prime Minister:* I will not make any value judgments during the battle. What I can tell you with certainty and having already gained relevant experience, having also managed last year’s fires, is that there is a much better level of organization and coordination compared to what happened in the past.

I think that all the authorities are one group. We understand that this is a team mission in which we will all have to work together. The fact that we are now all here, in a state-of-the-art operational center, all the competent people in the same place, is something that we had insisted on very much with the responsible Minister, having an image, having information. This is the essence of coordination, which is so necessary in these extreme situations.

Also, let me emphasize that obviously Greece is not the only one affected by fires at this time. In the rest of Southern Europe we have much bigger, much more destructive fires. We should understand that the Mediterranean is now at the center of the Climate Crisis. We’ve said it many times. The fires will be here, they will be with us, they will become more and more intense, which means that every time, every day, every week, every month, every year we have to raise the level of our operational preparedness. And in this direction we will continue to work.