The Fumes of Mars

Photographer Katerina Angelopoulou spent her summers in the area as a child, and it was the home of her parents. The fire rushed from the hilltop, jumping over the pine trees, and to the edge of the sea in less than an hour and a half–swallowing everything in its path. The Fire Department, and the Civil Protection failed to respond to the situation; an evacuation plan, or even a rushed warning was never executed and the necessary forces to battle effectively the fire or rescue people never dispatched to the area. The fire spread to the east, engulfing several small towns. Locals and passers-by were abandoned by those same structures that were there to protect them. The artist, her mother and her three-year-old daughter were trapped at the shoreline with several others for many hours before help finally arrived.

This book is the result of a research project that brings together testimonies of numerous survivors and information from the State Investigator Report and the ongoing trial including wildfire specialists, topographical information of the area, and Angelopoulou’s images.