Greek wildfires linked to faulty power lines

A series of devastating wildfires in Greece during the summer of 2026 have been linked to faulty power lines, according to a confidential fire department report seen by Reuters. The report identified a short circuit on the private power grid of the Mavro Spithari wind farm, owned by Interphoton Investment Group, as the likely cause of a major blaze near Agios Vasileios on July 31. A smaller fire on June 27 near the same village was also attributed to a short circuit on the same network, indicating recurring problems. The fire department has linked faulty power lines to two of Greece's biggest fires this year, including the Agios Vasileios fire and another in Crete, which together killed four firefighters and forced evacuations. Data from Greece's Arson Crimes unit suggests that suspected electricity network failures account for about 75% of the land burned in Greece this year, a figure disputed by Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator, the public power distributor. Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator has increased annual investments from about EUR150 million in 2019 to around EUR800 million today, but its network remains 250,000 km long. Three people were arrested in relation to the July fire. Interphoton declined to comment while the investigation is ongoing, and its deputy CEO Eleni Zafeiratou stated that the possibility of a fire had never crossed their minds. Local residents, who had long opposed the wind farm, expressed devastation and fear.