On August 9th, The New York Times reported that the effort to stamp out catastrophic wildfires in Greece entered a second week on Monday, with foreign countries continuing to send support, and officials began to assess the extent of the damage to thousands of homes and tens of thousands of acres of forest land.

A spokesman for the Greek fire service, Vasilis Vathrakoyiannis, said multiple fires had been contained to a large degree but that the risk of them flaring up again was high. “We’re particularly concerned about Evia,” he said, referring to Greece’s second largest island, northeast of the capital, which has borne the brunt of the flames. “It’s a massive expanse where we can see a rekindling at any given moment.”

Firewind guitarist / founder Gus G. has checked in with the following update:

"You’ve all probably heard of the current situation in Greece. Many of you have reached out - me and my family are safe, thank you. However my country needs help right now as there are many victims and homeless animals from the wildfires. 

I chose to personally support the Hellenic Red Cross (Ελληνικός Ερυθρός Σταυρός). Moreover, I want to let you know that for the whole month of August, the biggest part of the proceeds for all Blackfire Pickups and any merch sales from my Bigcartel shop will also be donated to the Hellenic Red Cross. Thanks for your support."

Gus launched a new company, Blackfire Pickups., at the beginning of the year. He posted a video trailer, found below, introducing the new venture. Go to the official website here.

Gus: "After designing several products with some of the biggest manufacturers in the business for years and releasing successful lines of signature products, I felt it’s time to take it to the next level and start my own company where I’d have total control and freedom over the creation of the products."

Two sets are currently available for pre-order.

- Immortal (passive)
- Proteus (active)