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As Greece fights wildfires, arsonists add to deadly toll

So many fires "cannot be a coincidence," says the prime minister.

ZAHARO, Greece - Fires pushed by gale-force winds tore through more parched forests, swallowed villages and scorched the edges of Athens on Saturday with ashes raining on the Acropolis. The death toll rose to at least 49 as the government declared a nationwide state of emergency.

Soldiers and military helicopters reinforced firefighting forces that were stretched to the limit by Greece's worst summer of wildfires in decades. In the most ravaged area - a string of mountain villages in southern Greece - rescue crews picked through a grim aftermath that spoke of last-minute desperation as the fires closed in.

Dozens of charred bodies were found across fields, in homes, along roads and in cars, including the remains of a mother hugging her four children.

And new fronts emerged. Dozens of fresh fires broke out across the country - including some blamed on arson - with the worse infernos concentrated in the mountains of southern Greece.

By sea and by land, authorities evacuated hundreds of people trapped by the flames.

An extra 500 soldiers were to join firefighters today, the fire department said. At least 12 countries also pledged reinforcements, including firefighting aircraft and crews.

Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis said arson was suspected in some of the blazes.

"So many fires breaking out simultaneously in so many parts of the country cannot be a coincidence," Karamanlis said in a nationally televised address. "The state will do everything it can to find those responsible and punish them."

A 65-year-old man was arrested and charged with arson and multiple counts of homicide in a fire that killed six people in Areopolis, a town in the southern Peloponnese, said a fire department spokesman. Also, two youths were arrested on suspicion of arson in the northern Greek city of Kavala, he said. Their parents were also to face charges, he said.

The region most affected was around the town of Zaharo, south of Ancient Olympia in the western Peloponnese. Thick smoke that blocked out the intense summer sun could be seen from more than 60 miles away.

The blaze broke out on Friday afternoon and quickly engulfed villages, trapping dozens of people during the night and killing at least 39. Scores of people were treated in local hospitals for burns and breathing problems.

Zaharo Mayor Pantazis Chronopoulos said he feared there would be more dead.

"We still have missing (people) who haven't been found. We have about 10 missing," he said, adding that soldiers had begun checking burned houses for more possible victims.

Desperate residents called television and radio stations to appeal for help, saying they were surrounded by flames. The fire department said 26 villages had been evacuated.

[Last modified August 26, 2007, 01:40:23]