'It's like a war right now,' says Greek island resident as wildfires burn
Greece says firefighters are battling up to 50 fires a day, and the heat won’t let up
As wildfires burn out of control in Greece, one resident says local villagers have largely been left to fend for themselves.
Fires have been burning in the country since last Wednesday, worsened by strong winds and three consecutive heat waves, with temperatures reaching 40 C.
Tens of thousands of people — some residents, and some tourists — have been forced to flee the flames, the worst of which are burning on the southeastern island of Rhodes and the northwestern island of Corfu.
The full toll of the flames is not yet known, but a firefighting plane crashed in southern Greece on Tuesday killing both crew members. Summer wildfires have also struck other Mediterranean countries, killing 34 people in Algeria and two in southern Italy.
The United Nations blamed climate change for the increasing frequency and intensity of wildfires across the European continent, noting that 2022 was the second-worst year for wildfire damage on record after 2017.
- Check the CBC News Climate Dashboard for live updates on wildfire smoke and active fires across the country.
Vassilis Kikilias, Greece's minister for climate crisis and civil protection, says firefighters are working "non-stop," sometimes battling as many as 50 fires a day.
But Maria Alexiou Zisimou says Tuesday is the first time she's seen any sign of official help. She's a wedding photographer who lives in the city of Rhodes, about an hour's drive from the nearest fire.
She says locals — including her friends and family — have been largely fighting the fires and co-ordinating the evacuations in the villages surrounding her. CBC has reached out to the national fire service for comment.
Here is part of Zisimou's conversation with As It Happens guest host Robyn Bresnahan.
The pictures on the news, the scenes of the fires, I mean, it looks very scary. How would you describe what it's like to be so close to them?
I've been close. I haven't been the closest. But it's a total disaster. It's a nightmare. It's like a war right now. We haven't been in war, but I think that's how it looks.
It's very scary. You don't know what to do, where to go, what to expect. It's very dangerous. Everybody's in panic.
The locals, though, are the ones that are doing all the work right now. Nobody's helping us from the government.
Right now ... they informed me that the school in Gennadi village is burning. It's burning down. All the [kids] from the area are going to this school, and now it's burning.
You are normally a wedding photographer, but I understand that you wanted to turn your lens on the fires today. What happened when you tried to get closer?
My family warned me that it's not safe right now to go there … and since I'm with the kids, I shouldn't leave them alone [with] their grandma ... because right now it's very, very dangerous.
Your husband, on the other hand, who has been helping out with the firefighting efforts, he has been taking some photos. I've seen some of them. I mean, it just looks apocalyptic.
Yes, my husband went there yesterday or the day before ... to bring some things that they needed, like water, ice, eye drops and masks.
And a few of your family and friends who have had to flee their homes and leave, where are they going?
At this period of time, we have like 20,000 people in the hotels. They were evacuated immediately by the locals. Please say that: by the locals. No authorities were helping.
We helped everybody to evacuate and we took everybody in the north part of the city [to] stadiums ready to have everybody in. All locals cooked. They bought water by themselves. They did everything by themselves.
The planes took off [with] most of the tourists. And now those centres are helping the locals. So everybody has somewhere to sleep. Everybody's helping with their houses. Like, if we have some relatives and we have some space, of course we, all of us, help each other.
It sounds, Maria, like you were very frustrated that the government has not been helping more. What would you like to see them do?
I don't know. Like, they came from another country with fire trucks, on the seventh day. Seven days we were burning without airplanes, without fire trucks, without the firemen.
You are about an hour's drive away from the fires at the moment, but I understand that you have a home that has been in your family for generations, in a small village that has been right in the middle of these fires. Is it still standing?
Yes. Actually, the volunteers got it. Only the yard ... is burnt. But ... inside, it's safe.
What does that ancestral family home ... mean to you?
This whole village is my childhood. It's everything to everybody there. We grew up there.
We are a big family. We are a big group of friends that are growing together, generation by generation. And right now, I don't have the power to go there and see what's happening. I don't believe in the pictures. I don't know. It's very, very, you know, heartbreaking right now. All of our memories are gone.
You have experienced fires before, but nothing like this.
Yes, we have experienced fires that were immediately … under control. But right now it's nine days of burning down. The fire will stop only at the sea, at the beach. This is a nightmare.
How are you talking to your own kids about what's happening?
My kids are pretty small … but I saw a picture, which I could send to you, from a little cousin of my kids that she drew. And it was heartbreaking. She lives in the village. She drew the houses burned down [on] very colourful red paper.
And it's very sad and scary. And we are angry right now. We are all left all alone.
With files from The Associated Press. Interview with Maria Alexiou Zisimo produced by Arman Aghbali
