The Italian authorities' investigation into the causes of the fires has revealed they are being set deliberately, and police suspect the mafia is responsible.

Mimmo Fontana, the president of the National Environmental League, said the mafia's motive was financial.

'They are experts in destruction and reforestation because after the flames, there is a lot of money to be made by those who put out the fire and those who replant the trees. Forest fires have become an entrepreneurial activity.'

In short, the mafia burns down forests so its own companies will be awarded money by the state or regional government to replant trees in the area.

In doing so, the mafia exploits its knowledge of its homeland's weak points. In Sicily, fires can be particularly devastating because of the scarcity of water. And the water the island does have is often in the hands of the mafia, which owns a large number of its dams and aqueducts.

As a result, firefighters can often only use water from private pools to subdue a blaze.

The mob's techniques for setting bush fires are cruel, using live cats to get the blazes going.

Speaking last week in Sicilian daily Il Giornale di Sicilia, Giacomo Patti, director of the state forestry department, explained this bizarre technique.

'The cat is soaked in petrol and set on fire. The animal starts to run and lights the underbrush as she does.'

Mr Patti said that on other occasions, 'a long burning rope is attached to the cat's tail' before it is sent running into the woods.

These cruel practices have recently been confirmed by the discovery of charred cat corpses in wooded areas ravaged by flames.

Last week, the Italian government decided to send armed forces to the region to deal with the situation.

Mr Fontana approved of the initiative, adding: 'It would be even better to employ the armed forces to take the place of forest rangers in the coming years ... and to ensure that the arsonists are penalised.'

A few weeks ago, police made their first arrest when two mobsters were surprised by authorities as they tried to start a fire in a wooded area.

Alfredo Morvillo, the judge in charge of the investigation, said: 'In Sicily, the mafia is present any time huge investments of money are in play. Reforestation, replanting burned down trees, is one of these.'

Francesco Forgione, president of the anti-mafia parliamentary committee, agrees.

'[The mafia] often burns entire wooded areas in order to make them suitable for building. There are zones, in fact, where it is not permissible to build, [natural reserves, for example] that they have burned down so they could then build villas and cement housing.'

For now, rescue efforts continue as workers try to evacuate areas affected by the fires. Hospitals are overcrowded and those nearest to the blazes have been forced to close.

In the past few days, the fires have spread to Calabria, the southern-most tip of the mainland. It is evident that the Calabrian mafia, referred to as the 'Ndrangheta, is responsible.

Recently, the 'Ndrangheta threatened emergency workers involved in rescue efforts in the region.

In one incident, a Canadair plane being used to dump water on the flames was attacked.