Fire season is here. Keep all the men and women out there fighting fire and protecting our forests and private property in your thoughts for this summer.
Three different places near Athens were destroyed by massive forest fires.
•180+people are severely injuredandburnt.
•50 people and counting were found deadon the streets, in their cars or houses, including families that were found hugging each other.
•100+aremissing.
This is a national tragedy. So many were lost because of ARROGANT PEOPLE.
Spreading awareness. There’s no need for such things to happen, so many lives were destroyed for no reason.
3 years later, Greece is burning again.
The situation is out of control, with fires currently happening in multiple places in the country, but especially Athens and Evoia which are burning uncontrollably for 2 days.
The fire in Athens started in a place where the government wanted to do construction work, so it is quite difficult to believe it wasn’t created on purpose. But at the same time the temperature is extremely high for a week now meaning there is a dangerous heat wave happening which may have made everything worse leading to the fires.
Hopefully we don’t have any human casualties, but on the contrary many animals have died including dogs, horses, sheep etc. Also there is a very big number of houses burnt down, again so many lives destroyed.
Firefighters are constantly fighting this hell but they do NOT get the attention and praise they deserve.
TW: death of animal
So once again I’m trying to spread awareness of this terrible situation that is destroying my country, while the government is sleeping and spending huge amount of money on police reinforcements and COVID advertisements.
The air was burning, stealing all of the leaves. The ground beneath her glowed a hot orange yellow in spots that glimmered, glimmered like a child’s idea of stars, fading in and out. Embers. It hurt to take a breath, and her eyes watered at the heat, the smoke- not even the destruction of it all. She pressed the fabric of her shirt over her face, hoping to gain some cheap relief, but found the air was far too hot.
She took a step, and immediately, hot air hit her with a bit more force, stinging her skin, and forcing her to freeze. Unable to breathe, or hear her own thoughts over the crackling, the popping of tree sap. Somewhere, a tree exploded, going down with sudden force.
The hot air found a way to batter the girl, to bake her, no matter what she did, where she stood, no matter who she prayed to. Standing still was no cure, just a slower death. She didn’t have the courage to sprint that far, didn’t have the strength, she knew. She’d fall and bake before she made it.
But she couldn’t stand here. Something inside her screeched at the indecision, as her sweat begun to bead and boil off. Then, like a starting pistol had gone off, Aria begun her pell-mell sprint, mind tearing at the lack of air. Her eyes stung from the smoke, skin and hair were singed, legs burned, feet without feeling. She took a desperate gulp of air, and begun to cough, to slow, to stagger.
Cooked from the inside out. The air was smoky, dry, hot, insufferable… but really, just a bit sufferable. She’d live. She’d try to prove it wrong.
She had to. Holding that burning breath, Aria begun to run again, embers taking a hold on her shoes and clothing, scalding air hitting skin that couldn’t take another wave of pain, that couldn’t process any more. Not until her foot caught on a root, and pulled her to the ground.
That was insufferable. Aria heard the hiss as her body hit the ground, flickering embers shining with an envious, furious, eager light as the girl landed, seeming damn near ready to jump into flame once more.
She smelled meat cooking. She didn’t know how she could smell anything with the air burning. But it was strong. She saw her arm, black and red, charred- The thought was repulsive, but as red-hot pain engulfed her senses, she had no time to think it. Aria’s limit was about twenty paces behind her.
There was no life here. There was no escape here. There was no hope here. Like a lightbulb overcharged, her consciousness left as quick as a *pop.*
“Through the Fire and the Flames”, my most recent commission!
The client, a close friend of mine –and also a member of CalFire–, presented me with one of my biggest challenges yet and I am really so excited with how it came out!!
If you are interested in the process of how this was made, please consider supporting me on Patreon! There you can see the exclusive posts, save toward rewards, and more!
