The Varnavas fires

This is not the photograph of a beautiful sunset. This was taken at 9:00 on Monday morning when the fires in the outskirts of Athens had been raging for over 16 hours, darkening the skies and making it impossible to breathe.

There has been so much on the news about this and so many images shared. Fires broke out in 40 different locations covering 100,000 kilometres; in some areas flames were as high as 25m; one person died; thousands were evacuated; 700 firefighters, 199 fire engines and 35 waterbombing aircraft were involved in efforts to extinguish the fires; five firefighters had to receive treatment for burns; 80 people were taken to hospital for respiratory problems.

The fire is under control at the moment.  However temperatures are still very high, with 40oC predicted for tomorrow and it's still a bit windy, so nothing is being taken for granted.

We live on the other side of Athens, so were not affected by the fires, not directly, and we are, thankfully, safe. The ominous, apocalyptic sky however, was a constant,

as was the ash on all three of our terraces; the stench of burning was unbearable, and the air so full of smoke it was hard to breathe.

The fires raged for almost 40 hours. During all that time I was not able to leave our apartment or go out on the terraces. Even though I have my asthma under control these days, smoke is still a serious trigger and even though all windows and doors stayed closed for all that time, for the first time in over two years I had to use my inhaler several times.

We are keeping our fingers crossed and hope that this is the end of the fires, for this year, at least.