A 70-year-old man has been was arrested after allegedly igniting an olive grove fire on the island of Evia by burning olive branches — a violation of Greece's seasonal ban on open-air agricultural burning — as strong winds spread the blaze before firefighters from Aliveri and Karystos contained it.
The fire broke out in the Almyropotamos district in the Karystia municipality.
Ground crews surrounded the perimeter before the fire reached nearby residential properties or pine forests. The suspect was apprehended at the scene and faces negligent arson charges before a local prosecutor.
The arrest comes as Greece has deployed its largest wildfire response force in history — nearly 19,000 firefighters on standby — and is one of the first enforcement actions under the summer burning ban as the high-risk season begins.
Violations of the ban carry felony-level charges under Greek civil protection law.