Their efforts reduced the loss of life and property

Brave volunteers helped put out the fires on the Greek island of Evia

• Volunteers used simple means to put out the flames.

  archival

• Volunteers come from all social and political spectrums.

  Reuters

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The fires swept across large parts of Europe, and in Greece, it was impossible for firefighters, and the fires consumed thousands of hectares.

Many brave local youths joined the firefighting effort, while others from other parts of the country, shocked by the insufficient response of the government, rushed to fight an unprecedented number of fires across multiple fronts, including the capital, Athens.

Volunteers, along with popular support from nearby cities and towns to get supplies to fire-stricken areas, helped save lives and property from fires raging across the island of Evia, northeast of Athens.

However, the devastation caused by the fires is catastrophic for many who live on the island, especially in the wooded north.

But the volunteers' efforts helped prevent loss of life, and the dire situation from getting much worse.

No loss of life was reported in Evia as a result of the fires that broke out on August 3 and continued until last Thursday. Huge smoke rose over the small western port of Edipsos early Wednesday, and firefighters and volunteers from other parts of Greece arrived to help Evia. Although far from the port, an important entry point to the island, the fire destroyed hundreds of hectares. Some villages continued to burn, adding to the bitterness of residents, who say the government prioritized fighting fires in a large forest near Athens and allowed the Evia fires to spread, becoming a huge front that would be impossible to fight.

Volunteers performed heroic deeds in desperate situations;

The north of the island was known for its strong winds, which have remained mercifully calm in recent days, and beautiful pine forests that caught fire, along with vineyards and olive groves.

Thousands of residents work either in honey production facilities or gum products, which alone bring about 5.5 million euros, annually, to northern and central Evia, where the resin is used to produce adhesives and paint dentures, while other residents rely on tourism.

Football coach Vagilis Bekakos of the coastal town of Limni praised the locals who rose to the level of the ordeal and helped put out the fires, including young men on his team and a civil engineer still watching through the night on the rooftops to ensure no fires broke out. "Volunteers saved Evia, because there was no one to help them."

heroic deeds

After the violent wildfires of 2016, the coach says, the residents of Limni set up a volunteer team of properly trained firefighters and rescuers who are bound by an oath to give up their day jobs and serve up any time a fire breaks out. The Piccos credited their heroic deeds with saving the city - broadcast on national television - for inspiring villagers in other parts of the island to fight the flames, too, rather than flee; "We were asking the firefighters to spray some water on a burning house, and they would say, 'We don't have such an order. We're interested in evacuating people, not spraying water,'" he said, "which caused common frustration about the government's strategy that prioritized saving lives."

Many feel that the great losses incurred by Evia could have been avoided.

And the government sent “an eviction letter to hide behind an excuse: I warned you to leave and you decided to stay.” “If you burn, you will burn alone, because the state cannot protect you,” says Beccakus.

Greece had to fight about 600 fires in just eight days, issue 65 evacuation alerts and evacuate 63,000 people, according to Deputy Minister for Crisis Management Nikos Hardalias, who explained to reporters, last week, “What I know is that the measures we have taken have saved lives. He continued, "We did not underestimate any fire, and we had to deal with a situation that was unique to the fire service: 568 fires."

extraordinary efforts

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Thursday that the forest fires that have devastated large parts of the country for more than a week represent the biggest environmental disaster in decades, and showed that "the climate crisis is here."

Firefighters from 24 European and Middle Eastern countries came to provide assistance.

A civilian and a volunteer firefighter were killed, compared to more than 100 people in the Attica region fires three years ago.

"We were able to save lives, but we lost forests and property," Mitsotakis said. "What we see today is what has been burned, but we don't see what has been preserved.

Thanks to the extraordinary efforts of the firefighters, the volunteers and the citizens themselves, countless homes have been saved.”

Five days after the fires broke out, Marinos, a native of the southern part of Evia, now studying in Athens, went with his friends to the burning north, because there seemed to be no government effort to control the fires.

"We took branches from trees to put out the fire," said Marinos, who did not give his last name. "Later, a man from the village came in his car with a water tank that he uses to irrigate his trees, and we used that water, too, and we used whatever we could find."

The importance of solidarity

A young Greek, Marinos, was among the volunteers, last week, near the village of Gouves, one of many villages that nearly burned.

The young Greek, a man of few words, says he experienced first-hand the importance of solidarity in 2019. His house was almost burnt down, but he survived thanks to the hands of volunteers who came from the north of the island.

“There is nothing like what happened here," he says.

It's not just the houses, it's the forest.

It's all gone.

What can they do after this?”

Warehouses full

Maria Papadopoulou, an Athenian, devoted days to delivering packages of food and water to those in need, bringing villagers to safety, and rescuing and feeding the few animals that survived the fire.

Papadopoulou agrees that the loss of the forest is a big problem. “The forest and the animals are gone forever,” continuing, “In a few days, all the volunteers will leave, and the villagers will be really alone then, and they will continue to live in this huge cemetery.” Papadopoulou is among the dozens of volunteers. who sacrificed their summer vacation to volunteer on the island.

Relief efforts have come together across the country thanks to a wide range of civil society actors, who operate a spectrum of volunteers, including churchgoers and left-wing activists.

The mayor of Limni, Giorgos Tsaborniotis, was forced to issue a statement asking people to stop sending supplies, because warehouses were full.

Kostas, a citizen of Thessaloniki, who declined to give his full name, arrived on the island two weeks ago and plans to stay until the end of his vacation.

"I wanted to help, I couldn't stand watching the tragedy in the news, I saw people struggling on their own, and I knew I could help physically," the volunteer said. "I can't watch anymore without doing anything."

When he arrived, he says, he and a friend went straight to a village they saw in trouble and helped people put out a fire in their backyards.

On Wednesday last week, in the town of Istia, Costas focused on delivering food when needed, despite the stifling smoke on the island.

“The needs are so many, that you can be useful right away,” says the young man.

It is a huge disaster across the country, especially here in Evia.”

secret island

Evia is the second largest island in Greece, after Crete;

It is famous for its hot springs and unique archaeological sites.

The island is located along the eastern coast, not far from Athens.

Evia is one of the "secret" islands that the Greeks seem to keep to themselves.

Eight days of fire that raged in the forests of the island left behind nothing but black twigs and gray earth.

Twenty-four countries have sent personnel and equipment to assist Greece.

In Evia, the front line of this disaster, Slovak firefighters stood side by side with their Greek counterparts, while helicopters and planes flew overhead to drop water on the burning ground.

Evia trees are a source of gum that supports many livelihoods.

But these forests are not farms, trees grew naturally over these hills, and communities grew around them.

Replanting will not work, either, because only mature trees produce the gum, and it may take three decades to reach this maturity.

600 fires broke out in Greece within 8 days.

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