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Portuguese cops arrest 14 believed arsonists over wildfires

Portuguese police have arrested 14 thought arsonists this week, who might have set some of the dozens of deadly wildfires raving across the country, adding to the fire threats originating from environment change and rural depopulation.

The blazes have actually claimed at least seven lives and damaged houses, factories and tens of countless hectares of forest.

Prime Minister Luis Montenegro on Tuesday guaranteed tough repressive action against such crimes dedicated in the name of particular interests, without defining even more.

Salvador Pinho Ferreira de Almeida, a Lusofona University professor specialised in civil protection, told Reuters there were strong signs of criminal activity, since a lot of the fires started in the evening and it's really bizarre to see a lot of outbreaks therefore scattered.

Scientist and criminologist Andre Inacio said arson was most likely worsening a climate scenario in which we have dry forests and really strong winds, even if the very first outbreaks might have been accidental.

The brand-new fires that began at dawn didn't begin by themselves. The prime minister did us a favour of stating what it actually is, he said, mentioning possible financial interests, such as the purchase of charred wood or land at lower costs, as factors for purposefully setting fires.

Other factors include mental health problems.

One case research study called Forest Fires in Portugal in 2017, revealed that arson represented almost 36% of the wildfires that killed 45 people in October 2017, about the like irresponsible fire use, such as by farmers to clear land.

A 2019 paper by Portuguese researchers Jessica Rolho and Cristina Soeiro, who studied the behaviour of 260 arsonists - 90% of them male - revealed that anger and revenge drove most to light fires, especially ladies, while some 27% of the males utilized arson as an instrument for individual gain.

Specialists also mentioned rural depopulation, which has actually resulted in thick vegetation covering stone barriers that used to serve as firewall programs, saying the federal government needs to resume clean-up efforts that started after lethal 2017 fires.

Not managing the landscape intensively enough is creating this explosive situation, said Lindon Pronto, Germany-based fire management professional at the European Forest Institute, adding that no significant financial investment in the fire reaction capacity would fix the issue.

(source: Reuters)