Fires in Attica and Boeotia: Mayor, electrician, and wind farm owner held

A mayor, an electrician, and the owner of a wind farm have been ordered into temporary detention in Greece as part of an investigation into a wildfire that ravaged parts of Boeotia and West Attica. The fire is alleged to have originated from the wind farm.

The three accused individuals, identified as a contractor (who also serves as a mayor), an electrical engineer, and the wind farm company owner, underwent lengthy interrogations before the Investigator of Thebes. The process began Thursday morning and concluded early Friday morning. Reports indicate the mayor was met with applause from citizens gathered outside the courthouse upon his arrival.

Following the testimonies, the Investigator and Prosecutor unanimously decided to impose temporary detention on all three defendants. The judicial investigation is ongoing, focusing on the circumstances that led to the fire's outbreak and its subsequent spread.

Autopsies conducted by experts revealed technical deficiencies and construction flaws within the wind farm's electrical grid. These findings are linked to the possibility of a short circuit and the generation of sparks that ignited the fire. Evidence at the fire's origin point included a fallen wooden pole and network conductors showing thermal alterations and deformations that appear to predate the fire itself.

Investigators noted that a similar incident occurred on June 27, approximately 150 meters from the main fire's starting point, also attributed to a short circuit. A mechanical engineer's testimony highlighted two points of elevated temperature detected during a network thermography. An electrical engineer estimates that strong winds caused the conductors to oscillate, leading to contact or near-contact, creating an electric arc. The report also states that construction deficiencies identified in a previous fire along the same line had not been fully rectified. Cables have been seized as evidence, revealing traces of electrical arcing, local melting, and deformation of the conductor sheaths.