The Big Fire

The big fire in Olympos happened during the English occupation. It started from areas around Spoa. The fire was coming north and the area that belonged to Spoa was completely burned. All the village went to fight the fire, even the pupils from the primary school. Nikolaidis was at the time the Forest Ranger. Exactly where the land of Spoa met the land of Olympos there was a stream that goes to Aghia Eirini. About ten men were there to check that the fire would not cross towards us. The fire was coming, I remember, and the pine trees started to fall and roll to the stream. We said to Nikolaidis, who was at the top of the hill, "Let’s stop the fire here, Nikolaidis!" As each tree trunk fell, burning, into the bed of the stream, we put out the burning.

Nikolaidis asks "Do you know this area? It is dangerous. You will get burned." I worked here making charcoal and I knew the area! "The stream has enough water to put out the fire on the trunks ... and if other people come to help ... I can’t make the decision. It is dangerous." Finally, four of us men went down to the place where the trunks were lying. The fire was approaching and all the people created a burnt area to halt the fire, in Italian Contra Fuoco ^note. We made it and stopped the fire. Once it was stopped we knew it would not reach us. The fire died down and we went back to the top of the hill.

The fire was not yet in our area but we knew it would come in our direction. It was summer time and many people were working in Avlona. They went from Olympos and shouted to summon the people. "Let’s all go to the fire otherwise there will be a disaster." We all of us left Avlona and went to the fire, which was still far away. The responsible, senior people said "If we don’t carry out back-burning ^note we can’t save the forest." So we cleared one slope of the mountain from the top to the stream. We were many people, the whole village, men, women and children. When the people of Spoa saw us they said we looked like the Russian army! We started work. It is difficult, for me, Manoli, to convey the sound of 200 axes working at the same time, men and women, and the women working like men. All together! It was like one living person! We cleared the slope and pulled all the branches down to the stream. And then we formed a line, like an army formation, and we started the fire all along the line at the same time. We saw the fire going up the slope to meet the oncoming wildfire. What I will never forget is when the two fires met. We thought the fire went up to the sky and the roar was as if the earth moved! And then the fire started to die down. The only thing we had to do was keep watch to make sure it did not start again and come over to our side. And one moment, sparks did fly over to our side and immediately one tree started to burn. We ran there and saw it burning all the way to the top so under the fire we chopped it down with axes.