A house is on fire at Inoi village some 186 miles southwest of Athens late Saturday. At least 30 deaths occurred in the western Peloponnese near the town of Zaharo, the department said. A massive fire in the area, fanned by strong winds, continued to burn out of control.

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 onto the Acropolis. At least 49 people died, and the government declared a nationwide state of emergency.

The worst infernos were concentrated in the mountains of southern Greece and on the island of Evia north of Athens, and early Sunday, flames approached villages just outside Ancient Olympia.

Panicked residents and local officials called television stations to appeal for help, with many complaining there were too few firefighters.

“We’re going to burn alive here,” one woman told Greek television from the village of Lambeti. She said residents were using garden hoses in a desperate attempt to save their homes.

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

Church bells rang out in the village of Kolyri near Ancient Olympia as panicked residents tried to gather their belongings and flee through the night, said one man who called the television station.

“The situation is desperate,” said another. “I can’t describe this in words.”

New fronts emerged Saturday as dozens of fresh fires broke out – including some blamed on arson. Another blaze broke out in the area of Kalyvia, between the capital and the ancient site of Sounion to the south, and the flames flared again on two fronts in the early hours of this morning, threatening houses.

Soldiers and military helicopters reinforced firefighting forces stretched to the limit by Greece’s worst summer of wildfires. 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.

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

Senior Health Ministry official Panagiotis Efstathiou said 49 bodies were taken to hospitals. The fire department said it could confirm 47 deaths. There were fears the toll could increase as rescue crews searched recently burned areas.

An extra 500 soldiers would join firefighters today, the fire department said, while at least 12 countries were sending 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,” he 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 fire department spokesman Nikos Diamandis. Separately, two youths were arrested on suspicion of arson in the northern city of Kavala, he said. Their parents will also face charges.

The worst affected region was around the town of Zaharo, where thick smoke blocked out the intense summer sun and could be seen from more than 60 miles away. The blaze broke out Friday afternoon and quickly engulfed villages, trapping dozens of people and killing at least 39. Scores of people were treated in hospitals for burns and breathing problems.

The fire department said at least 26 villages were evacuated.