ATHENS, July 26 (Xinhua) -- The Cannes-honored Greek director Theo Angelopoulos's personal archives and cultural heritage "became ashes" in the deadly wildfires near Athens, the director's widow said Wednesday.

"The house has been completely destroyed. My husband's books were burnt. His letters from acknowledged people, all his books that writers dedicated to him were here," Phoebe Economopoulos told local news portal "in-gr".

Economopoulos stressed that there were no sirens or bell sounds to warn people and evacuate the area.

Considered one of the leaders in contemporary European cinematography, Angelopoulos passed away in January, 2012, after being hit by a motorcycle while shooting a film in Athens about the debt crisis rocking Greece.

Angelopoulos's work, including "O thiasos", "Landscape in the Mist" and the Palme d'Or winner "Eternity and a Day", was characterized by slow, long takes, poetic scenes and great sensitivity.

The country's deadliest blazes in decades broke out Monday and have claimed 81 lives, with over 2,000 homes destroyed or damaged, according to the latest estimates by local authorities.