When wildfires are started by faulty pylons

A wildfire that started outside Athens and made its way to the city, burning some 10,000 hectares of forest and scrubland along the way, started from a wooden power grid pylon, an experts' report released earlier in December says.

It turns out that wooden pylons are involved in several cases of fires: wires snap, for some reason, often high winds, fall to the ground and the sparks are enough to start a blaze. 

Experts and citizens, the latter among those who suffered the effects of wildfires, have long been calling for portions of the grid to be diverted underground. To no avail, most of the time.

When the Supreme Court finally rules about the cause of the wildfire, it opens the way for residents to be awarded damages from DEDDIE, the Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator. The trouble is, it often takes many years for the cases to wind their way...