Residents of the Greek seaside village of Rovies mourn a lost paradise of pristine pine forests and family homes, scorched by wildfires that burned for nine days.
But they are also angry as they start to see how little was salvaged.
The village at the foothills of a mountain, on the island of Evia northeast of Athens, had long been a popular retreat for Greek and foreign tourists, with locals also living off honey, resin, and olive oil farming.
Wildfires have turned the forest and beehives into ashes and burned down about a dozen houses in Rovies, those on the outskirts, and dozens more across the island.
One of these homes belonged to 72-year old Costas Constantinidis, a former pastry cook.
“There was a paradise here and now… it’s hell,” Constantinidis said, in tears as he stood in front of his house, much of which was destroyed by flames.
“My wife and I worked hard for many years to build this so we could enjoy it in our old age, and now, we must start again from the beginning,” he added.
In Rovies, as in other villages across the island, residents said the government failed to protect their homes and the forest.
“The truth is that they forgot us,” 87-year-old Sotiria Kalaboka said, adding: “From the beginning, the airplanes did not come to drop (water), to act.”
Kotzias Thrasyvoulos, a beach cafe owner in Pefki, on the other side of the island, said firefighters were a big help but that, without air units at first, they could not tackle the fire.
“If they had brought the helicopters and the planes immediately and had stayed for six or seven hours straight, the fire would have been put out from the beginning on the first day,” he said.
A fire brigade official said he understood people who lost their homes were upset, but insisted firefighters had done all they could.
“All firefighters, all fire engines were in the fronts from the beginning,” the offical said.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has publicly apologised for delays in the firefighting effort and announced 500-million-euro ($587 million) relief package, while defending his government’s action.
“I want to tell them that I completely understand what they feel, both the pain and the disappointment, and the desperation,” he told a news conference on Thursday.