LISBON - Police in Portugal have arrested 127 people suspected of starting forest fires that have destroyed swathes of land as authorities stepped up efforts to ensure fires do not restart when temperatures rise again.
Police said on Friday they had arrested the 127th person linked to the fires in central and northern Portugal that have destroyed about 5 percent of the country's forests this year and killed 14 people.
"In my opinion, 80 percent of fires are started deliberately," said Paulo Tavares, head of the fire fighter volunteers in the town of Coja. He would not elaborate on who was behind them.
Some local newspapers in rural areas where fires have been most intense have reported that hunters might be setting fires because the government cut the hunting season.
Others say most fires are caused by accident, or negligence, such as lit cigarette butts or barbecues.
"There is no scientific study, but from my knowledge I am convinced the majority of fires start because of negligence," said Luciano Lourenco, head of the Forest Fire Prevention Agency.
Citing unnamed police sources, newspaper Diario de Noticias reported on Friday that 20 percent of the 28,160 fires registered this year were intentionally started.
Some politicians have warned that media attention could spur others to light fires. Francisco Louca of the Left Bloc party suggested that television stations limit their coverage.
Nearly 30 percent of Portuguese TV news coverage this month was on fires, according to a Marktest survey published on Friday in Diario de Noticias.
Story by Axel Bugge
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
