A Greek investigating magistrate has ordered the pre-trial detention of the mayor of Stylida over the wildfire that destroyed thousands of hectares of forest west of Athens. Apostolou, elected mayor of the port town in Phthiotis, central Greece, in 2023, owns the construction firm that built the overhead line carrying power from a private five-turbine wind farm to the national grid. A thermal imaging inspection on June 20 had recorded unusually high temperatures at two points where the underground cable meets the overhead line. The case has drawn attention to how privately owned grid connections serving renewable installations are inspected in Greece, where wind capacity has expanded across exposed ridgelines. The European Commission’s Emergency Response Coordination Centre warned in late July that the season’s blazes were moving east towards Italy and Greece.