ROME: Alert levels remained high on Thursday in southern Europe where a devastating heatwave persisted as environmentalists blamed many of the fires raging in Italy on arsonists.

At least 4,500 hectares (11,000 acres) of protected areas have burned in the past three weeks in Italy, according to the environmental group WWF, charging widespread arson.

“Most of the fires of the past few days have been of a criminal nature,”the WWF said in a statement. “It is well known that fire almost always serves to get rid of trees and other natural obstacles to make way for new hotels, villas or pastures.”Public safety chief Guido Bertolaso accused “many cities” of failing to update the property records of areas that are burned. Under Italian law, no new construction is allowed on burned land until 15 years after a fire.

WWF said the hardest hit regions were Campania around Naples, in addition to Abruzzo, Calabria, Sicily and Apulia.

On Tuesday, a fire in the Apulia region killed two elderly people, burning them alive as they tried to escape in their car.

The Italian Farmers Confederation said that more than 5,000 hectares of farmland had also been destroyed, worth some one billion euros (1.4 billion dollars).

Temperatures were declining in Italy on Thursday, where meteorologists expected highs in the low 30s Celsius (high 80s Fahrenheit) in most of the country.

Hundreds of fires have been brought under control, but the situation remained critical in Abbruzzo and Calabria, public safety officials said.

In Bulgaria some 9,500 hectares in the centre and northeast were on fire Thursday, prompting Sofia to seek aid from the European Union, NATO and Russia.

A state of emergency was declared Wednesday in the central Kazanlak region and northeastern Dabovo.

Temperatures have dropped, but winds are still fanning the fires.

Public safety officials suspected that many farmers were taking advantage of the heatwave to clear land for planting, which is illegal.

In Greece meanwhile, two elderly women were found Thursday in the Peloponnese village of Diakofto where a fire was burning for the third day.

A 76-year-old man died Wednesday evening in another fire in the village of Mamoussia that destroyed many homes not only in Mamoussia but also in two other towns, Pyrgaki and Melissia. All were evacuated.

The inferno broke out in the area some 200 kilometers (120 miles) from Athens on Tuesday and has yet to be brought under control.

A dozen other fires were still burning across the country including major blazes on the islands of Kefalonia and Zakynthos in the Ionian sea, at Chios island in the Aegean, Hydra south of Athens and in Kastoria and Kozani, in the north. Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow would send firefighting aircraft to Greece on Friday.

Two Greek Canadair pilots have already died while trying to douse a forest fire, as well as three firefighters.

Three elderly people have also died this week in Greece from heat-related causes. Temperatures reached 45 degrees Celsius in some areas on Wednesday, and again hit the 40-degree mark in some western, southern and eastern towns on Thursday.

Croatia’s Dalmatian coast was ablaze with dozens of fires, and 1,400 tourists and residents were evacuated Wednesday from the island of Solta, where some 400 hectares of forest and olive groves burned down and homes were threatened.

Two water-dropping planes were backing up 300 firefighters in that battle.

In Slovakia a lightning strike sparked a huge forest fire that claimed at least 10 hectares of the Slovensky Raj (Slovakian Paradise) national park in the east of the country.

Worst-hit Hungary, where up to 500 people may have died last week from heat-related causes, was enjoying a significant drop in temperatures with the welcome arrival of a cool front.—AFP