ATHENS – Conspiracy theories circulating that the massive wildfires that overran Greece's second-largest island of Evia to make way for wind turbines were set were rejected by WWF Hellas.

The agency's Director of Environmental Policy, Theodota Nantsou, dismissed speculation about arson aimed at forcing the New Democracy government to go ahead and install the wind turbines that critics there don't want.

In a post on Facebook, Nantsou citedlegal expert Giorgos Karavokiris about a decision from the country's highest administrative court, the Council of State, about reforestation.

“One does not need to burn the forest to install renewable energy sources,” she wrote, noting that, if anything, a fire would prevent the project from proceeding, adding to what critics of conspiracy theories have said is poppycock to be disregarded.

The government said it would prohibit using burned land for any use and that it would be reforested, after decades of wildfires often saw developers swoop in to build on it to make a profit.