Flames rage through a forest in Rhodes on Tuesday. Photo: Petros Yannakouris/AP
When the forest fires of Rhodes first broke out on the other side, the inhabitants of the charming village of Asklipio thought that the flames would not consume their houses.
But a disastrous combination of unbearable heat, strong winds and overgrown forest that the locals were unable to clear has resulted in the hillside village being surrounded and the fires spreading miles down the coast.
As the island begins a rebuilding operation after the apocalyptic scenes last week and evacuation in Greek history, the islanders turn their wrath on the authorities.
Residents say the island's pine, cypress, myrtle and oak forests have been in poor condition for years, which experts say has added fuel to the wildfires. Locals cannot cut trees on their land without permission, otherwise they face a heavy fine or even a prison sentence.
At the school in Asklipio, where displaced people gathered against the backdrop of a 15th-century castle. and the burnt remains of 10 village houses, 23-year-old Marita Hatzilazaru, an economics student, was outraged by the lack of preparation from the regional government.
Her traditional stone and wood house on the beach in Kiotari, which she shared with her 86-year-old grandfather Lazar, burned down as a wall of flames rushed to the shore. “My house burned down, there was nothing left,” she said. “Everything is destroyed.”
Ms. Hatzilazaru said she “doesn't care as long as we're all safe” but is angry authorities for their response and lack of preparation for the emergency.
“There was not much help from the government. Nobody was ready – if not for our friends, I don't know what we would have done,” she said.
She said the wind made the fires worse, but the government was also to blame for allowing the forests get out of control.
“The fire started on the other side of the island – we never thought it would start here. The government doesn't care, we're alone here. We only have each other. The forest was overgrown, and the flames quickly spread.”
Vassilis Pelikanos, 86, carried the brush around the village of just 100 people, helping to clean up the ashes and debris. He was outraged by the destruction of the house of his 55-year-old sister, Irini, and said that they were not given any help after the fire.
“We spent three nights on the beach with nothing,” he said. said. “The government did not help us. My sister's house burned down. It's heartbreaking.”
He added that the fires would not have spread so quickly if the government had done more to prevent the emergency.
“The government is doing nothing,” he said. “I don't know where all the money goes. The island was not ready. No no no. Of course they don't care about the forests. If I cut down one tree myself, I will go to jail. For one tree. You can't even cut down a tree in your own garden.”
Forest fires destroyed the forest near the village of Gennady in the river. southern part of Rhodes. Image Credit & Copyright: Angelos Tsortinis/AFP
Two and a half miles from the quiet beach and clear waters of Kiotari, where thousands of British tourists have been evacuated from luxury hotels, Alexiou Vassilis, 57, surveyed the charred mess around the tavern he has run for 32 years.
“I I don't know what will happen in the future, but at least everyone is safe. The flames were huge, within three to four hours it spread,” he said.
“There was too much wind and the fire was too big for anyone to come to the rescue. But we weren't ready. There was so much wind and so many trees that the fire spread quickly. Nobody can cut them down. I have never seen such fires before.”
Others feared that the tourism industry would suffer forever. Boiling Angelos, 53, sat in her abandoned bar counting her losses.
“The times couldn’t get any worse, it’s high season,” she said. “In my village, 10 houses were burned, and our olives were also burned. It was heartbreaking. The government did nothing as it destroyed our villages. We had a lot of wind, but they did nothing to prepare, they sit in the office or go on vacation.
“They don't take care of the forest. Everyone is destroyed, no one is allowed to cut trees, nothing. They didn't do anything. This is madness. They used to have a farmer in every village, but now they only watch in the city of Rhodes, where they sit and do nothing.”
2507 Forest fires in Rhodes
Experts also stated that forest management was poor and contributed to “ deadly” situation, exacerbated by climate change.
Guillermo Rein, a professor of fire science at Imperial College London, said wind and dry vegetation have made wildfires “much faster” and turned them into “walls of flame.”
“Poor forest management leads to increased stress on fuel, vegetation of the most flammable type, and few or narrow firebreaks. This is unfortunate because fire safety and ecology require strong and sensible forest management,” he said.
“When everything goes wrong, when dry vegetation is abundant, there is wind, and previous forest management was poor . there is little that the fire brigades can do, and the population along the possible fire path must be evacuated with ample time to get to safety.”
The focus can now be turned to what can be done to to prevent a future disaster, but for the people of Rhodes, these arguments came too late. “Will the tourists come back?” Ms. Angelos asked. “Do you think they will come to Kiotari again?” We need them to come back.”
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