Tag: Fires in Greece

Yet another inferno

I don’t want to go into details about the fires raging in Greece, since these can be found in all the papers and news streams. They are too awful to contemplate, as are the fires in Canada, California, and elsewhere. Nor do I want to start a discussion of what, or who, is to blame—arson, climate change, negligence… It is too painful.

Ireelevant photo of a soothing Japanese garden

All I want is to spare a thought for the people affected, who have lost holidays, possessions, properties and sometimes their lives. And another for the people fighting those fires, with immeasurable courage. Having witnessed a few myself, I know there are few things more frightening than an out-of-control blaze. Horrible for people on the ground, but perhaps even worse for the pilots, who have to fill up with water from a raging sea (it is strong winds that drive the blazes) and then fly blind through the smoke to dump it on houses and woods.

The gardens of the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild in the south of France

And finally a thought for nature, which will be depleted for years to come, and might never recover.

I have posted peaceful pictures because we see enough violent ones in the news.

Thank you

I’d like to thank all of you who sent me words of commiseration and encouragement over the last two days. I was touched by all the positive energy, sometimes from people I hadn’t spoken to in years.

 

I’m finding it difficult at this moment to answer each and every one separately, while the news are still full of updates, tragic stories and horribly depressing photos. Even worse, there are still a lot of people missing—I can’t imagine what their families and friends are going through.

I’m so sad Greece has again made the front pages for such a dreadful reason—it seems our troubles are never ending.

The beach below is Kokkino Limanaki (the little red port) where we often go to swim. It had beautiful pine trees above a red cliff and a lovely view of the island of Euboea. Many people tried to escape from there.

 

 

When the wind is blowing, fire changes direction with the speed of lightning. Sometimes there are only a few meters between hell and safety.

 

All photos from Google. Please DM for credit.

Ablaze

In 2015, I wrote about the summer fires in Greece (here). Sadly, this is a recurring theme, which I could post about every year.  Forest fires can  occur everywhere when it’s dry and windy. And pine trees, which comprise most of the bits of forest around Athens, burn with more intensity than other woods because they’re resinous.

I’ve already experienced two very bad fires in previous years, when both times our garden was burnt and the house barely saved. However, this one is the worst by far. Since yesterday the situation has been catastrophic. Not only much of the remaining vegetation has been destroyed and scores of houses damaged, but, even more tragically, there have been a large number of casualties. Many people were trapped on the beaches and had to be rescued by sea. Others were trapped in their cars, some died when the taverna they were eating in burned to the ground.

 

 

Can these fires be prevented, or controlled faster? A very strong wind was blowing, spreading the flames at a terrifying rate. The usual blame game is going on, but in California and Australia, where the equipment must be superior, they seem to face the same sort of problems.

Meanwhile, superhuman efforts are being made by firefighters and volunteers on the ground, along with the heroic pilots who skim the waves to fill up their tanks and then fly through the smoke to drop the water on their chosen target.

 

It’s going to be a long, difficult summer.

 

Photos from Google