mercy
http://sup.kathimerini.gr/xtra/media/files/var/PELMAP.jpg
5PM EST, 3AM in Greece.
Ashes fall as my paternal grandfather's village is surrounded by fire. Flashlights can be seen in television as people try to flee their homes. Meligalas, Zevgolatio, Dorio, Aetos surrounded. My extended family has been evacuated from their villages. Our properties at risk. Dozens of people dead. Relatives stranded. Mom sending sms "there is no help."
Friends battling new fires around Athens. Triple phone conference call with Paris and Athens as a friend's son is spraying his home with water and clutching his scuba oxygen tank as a last resort. Phone being cut off. Church bells ringing everywhere. Strong wind. No hope.
Mercy on the 'island' of Pelops.
Saturday/Sunday 12AM EST, 10AM in Greece
On the phone with mom. She has reached some immediate family in Zevgolateio. The fire has reached Vassiliko. They refuse to evacuate. I try to call them. The lines have been disconnected.
Sunday 2PM EST, 12AM in Greece
Ancient Olympia, the cradle of the Olympic Games converted to ashes. The locals have self organized and given up on the over-commited fireworkers. New fronts all over the country. 62 bodies found so far. Many people missing. Fires are so tall they are jumping the rivers. In Messinia, the fires are closing in on my father's house. It could reach by tomorrow.
Sunday/Monday 12AM EST, 10AM in Greece
Olympia museum was spared at the last minute. Four fires in the Peloponnese region may unite if the wind continues. The fire from the northeast is 12km from my family's villages, and 25km from the northwest front. There are two fires 30km southeast and southwest that are in danger of uniting also. There are so many fronts in the rest of the country, it is hard to keep track of them. I am starting to feel selfish that I am fixated on my family's four villages when dozens of others have been wiped off the map. The Peloponnese is my home. Will I ever return to my field of poppies?
Tuesday/Wednesday 11PM, 9AM in Greece
Fires partially under of control, but still burning. High wind expected today with fear it will re-ignite major fronts. Family safe so far. The nightmare is far from over, but a lot of help has trickled in from abroad. 184,000 hectares burned in 2 days is the preliminary estimate. 269,000 hectares burned year to date. 64 people dead in 2 days, large number of livestock destroyed. Arrests are being made. Civilian patrols have been able to spot fires before they get out hand. This is an outrage.
