Nikos Christodoulou is one of the many Greek residents who have lived in Manilva since 2005, and today he is the protagonist of a piece in the newspaper El Confidencial, describing the tragedy he is living through on the holiday he has had to «enjoy» very close to the fire that has been ravaging Greece for a week.
He moved south to work in Gibraltar and for a time lived close to the British colony for practical reasons. «But the family grew and we moved to Manilva (Málaga)». Days ago, as in other years, he decided to return to his country with his family to spend part of the holidays with his parents and his sister. But what should have been a time of happiness and reunions has turned into a hell of flames, ash and destruction. Nikos is a direct witness to the devastation caused by the wave of fires sweeping across Greek territory. He says he lives glued to his mobile phone because at any moment he may receive a message from the 112 emergency service ordering them to evacuate. He is currently with his family in the Malakasa area and, although the flames do not yet appear to threaten this area, they are close enough for a gust of wind to change the situation.
«We have loaded into the car everything we can save», he explains to El Confidencial as firefighting aircraft fly over his head and descend in formation to reload with water. One, two, three and even four in a row. «They have told us it is under control, but I don’t trust it. Because areas that are now destroyed were also safe hours earlier. The situation can get out of control at any moment». Nikos explains that they constantly check the direction and strength of the wind, because any change could speed up the evacuation. «The flames could arrive this Friday evening or tomorrow, Saturday», he says as he drives, looking for a safe route to Athens to travel with his family. «Today, this Friday, is going to be a very long day», he says as he passes through a town where «people are uneasy because the trees are moving a lot». «The neighbours are ready to flee at any moment, because if the fire reaches here, it will be unstoppable. They won’t be able to stop it with the water they have at home», he says minutes before confirming that power cuts are occurring that could hamper firefighting efforts because they would disable the water pumps in homes.
Clouds of smoke and power cuts
This adopted malagueño notes that 150 fires have been counted, although the largest are those affecting Varibobi and the island of Euboea, a beautiful natural area, «all green», which «has burned from one side to the other». Christodoulou explains that his family has returned to Spain, but he has decided to stay with his parents and his sister «to help them». Air travel is not, for the moment, being affected, but the clouds of smoke and ash are causing problems in large cities, such as Athens, and in small towns, whose residents «have received messages recommending that they close their windows and cover their chimneys so that embers that could start fires do not get into their homes».
«For four days, Athens has been trapped in a cloud of smoke, which has combined with the tremendous heatwave being recorded», he says, adding that the roads are deserted and that the entrances to the city appear to be cut off. «I had to turn back because I couldn’t get there, so I’m trying again», he says, at the same time as he captures with his phone how columns of smoke rise above the wooded hills beside him. «I think it will be the last time I see this forest», he remarks with a certain nostalgia, before passing on the latest information. «Nine aircraft are operating above us non-stop. Athens is now suffering scheduled power cuts to avoid a total ‘blackout’, as high-voltage lines in the northern area have burned». Hours later Nikos gets in touch to say that «people on the island of Euboea are being evacuated by boat». «All the fires are spreading relentlessly. If there is any news, I’ll write to you again. I hope we are lucky», he says in farewell.
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