Fires Rage in Greece For Fifth Day (2/2)

It is a charge that angers Stratos Paradias, head of the Hellenic Property Federation, a group that defends the interests of property owners.

The government has confirmed that trees will be re-planted in all the fire zones. The environmental group Greenpeace has said that weak environmental laws, careless farmers and garbagedumps are the main reasons for the fires.

Nikos Charalambides, director of Greenpeace in Greece, tells VOA that it is too early to establish who is responsible for the fires.

"What we can say, though, and that's something we can proves through facts and figures and statistics over the years, is that statistically the most frequent causes of fires in Greece, these are either sparks from electric wires or illegal dump sites which are set on fire, either intentionally or accidentally, especially in summertime due to high temperatures."

To add to the misery of the devastating fires, a strong earthquake with a magnitude of five struck southern Greece Tuesday. The quake panicked residents in the region and was felt in areas where firefighters were battling blazes.