Olympic Flames

Fierce wildfires have blazed across Greece for the past week, torching villages and killing 63 people amid the country’s worst such disaster in decades. Hot winds have spread infernos from the southern Peloponnese to the isle of Evia north of Athens. Even at ancient Olympia, birthplace of the Olympic Games, flames scorched the earth around the sacred site’s museum.

With the nation’s firefighters struggling to tame the blazes, nearby countries — from Israel to Italy — delivered manpower and equipment to help the effort. Locals fought back, too: one man doused the flames that licked his home with hundreds of liters of wine.

In no time, the fires became a serious political issue. George Papandreou, leader of the opposition Socialist PASOK party, slammed the government’s response as “totally incompetent.” Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis — who has declared a state of emergency — fingered arsonists for setting the country ablaze, and several suspects have already been charged. Even if the fires relent before national elections in mid-September, anger over the scale of devastation will likely keep smoldering.

To view a photo essay illustrating the devastation in Greece, click here