The Civil Protection Department is not excluding that last Sunday’s fires in Miżieb and l-Aħrax tal-Mellieħa were acts of arson.
“We are not ruling out anything. From our investigations so far, it doesn’t result that it is arson, but it could be, as the fire wasn’t isolated and there were other fires at the same time,” Xemxija station officer Natalino Bezzina told The Sunday Times.
“It was a big fire and if the intervention wasn’t made on time, it could have been devastating, as the wind helped spread the fire quickly,” Mr Bezzina said.
The reserves in question are run and cared for by the Hunters and Trappers Federation (FKNK) since the 1980s. They are used for hunting in season and are open to the public at weekends.
FKNK president Joseph Perici Calascione told a news conference yesterday that around 20 tumoli of woodland were lost in Miżieb and 10 tumoli were lost at l-Aħrax, adding that it was estimated they would take some 30 years to regenerate.
Since the fires happened simultaneously in Miżieb and l-Aħrax while hunters were competing in a clay pigeon shooting competition, Mr Perici Calascione said “we find it difficult to believe it is just a coincidence and not a direct attack against us”.
He appealed to ministries, banks and media outlets to help out in the regeneration of these woodlands, which was the fruit of hours of voluntary work by hunters and trappers.
Meanwhile, Mr Bezzina appealed to anyone with information on the fires to contact the police, and to call 112 at once if they see any similar fires to trigger off immediate action.