The good part of this story isn't the fire.
Wildfire burned through more than 100 square kilometers of land near Athens, destroying homes and forcing evacuations.
Animals were caught in it too.
In Megara, about 40 kilometers west of Athens, volunteers began searching for pets and other animals left behind as people fled.
Rescue organizer Elena Dede told the Associated Press that the local effort saved more than 280 animals, mostly dogs, despite extreme heat and dangerous winds.
Rescuing them was only the beginning.
Animals had to be transported, identified, sheltered and cared for while volunteers and authorities tried to locate their families.
Some were housed temporarily in an indoor sports facility.
For people fleeing a disaster, pets can become another source of anguish: evacuate immediately, or spend precious time trying to find an animal that may be hiding or frightened.
That's why disaster planning for animals matters—and why volunteers willing to return for them matter too.
There is nothing uplifting about a wildfire.
There is something worth remembering about people who run toward the animals left behind.