Lightning-Caused Wildfires: The Case of Mount Mainalo, Arcadia, Greece.

This paper concerns eighty (80) lightning-ignited wildfires on Mount Mainalo, Greece, during the period from 1998 to 2022. Descriptive statistics of the dataset, frequency distribution histograms, and maps were used to describe the number of fires per year, the burned area per fire, the total burned area per year, the elevation of lightning-caused fire occurrences, the wildfire detection time, and the holdover time (the phase between the ignition and fire detection). The analysis shows an increased frequency of lightning-caused wildfires in August and July. Most of the fires took place in the southern part of the mountain and were detected in the afternoon hours. These preliminary findings and conclusions provide a comprehensive understanding of the past regime of natural fire on Mount Mainalo, and they can support improving wildfire prevention and management policies in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]