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Flames near the ancient sites of Olympia
Photo:
Giannis Spyrounis / AP
The major fire near Olympia was contained in the night - just before the flames could reach the ancient site in Greece.
"The site has been saved for the time being," said the governor of the West Greece region, Nektarios Farmakis, on state television early in the morning.
However, he warned: "The danger is not over." It is to be hoped that the fire will be brought under control in the next few hours with the help of helicopters and fire-fighting planes.
There has been a drought throughout Greece for months, and temperatures have been reaching 40 to 47 degrees for ten days.
One spark can be enough to trigger large, destructive fires.
"We still have difficult days ahead of us," said the head of civil defense, Nikos Chardalias, on Wednesday evening after an emergency meeting with the fire service management.
Fire fighters and volunteers around Olympia fought the flames all night.
"We are doing everything humanly possible to save the Olympics," said Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni on the Greek state television.
Firemen and local authorities had formed a final line of defense against the flames around the ancient site and stadium of Olympia.
Bulldozers dug trenches along the site to keep the flames from spreading.
In the early morning a light breeze deflected the flames away from Olympia, as reported by local reporters.
Smoke bell over Athens
Heavy fires also raged on the Euboea peninsula and in numerous regions of the Peloponnese peninsula.
Dozens of people had to be brought to safety in boats near the town of Rovies on the Euboean coast.
Numerous houses were destroyed and several villages evacuated.
Nationwide, 161 fires broke out within 24 hours, the civil defense said on Wednesday evening.
A fire in the north of Athens was initially largely contained, also thanks to decreasing winds.
However, the city was under a bell of smoke.
The intensity of the fires in Greece has now exceeded the usual level of the summer months, said Mark Parrington of the European Copernicus Climate Change Service.
Dramatic situation in Turkey
In Turkey the situation is even more extraordinary.
No such intense fires have been observed there since data collection began in 2003, Parrington said.
According to official information, the fire brigade in Turkey has so far fought more than 160 fires, most of which have been extinguished.
But major fires in the provinces of Antalya and Mugla have not been brought under control for days.
On Wednesday, the flames in Milas (Mugla) also spread to a coal-fired power station.
The mayor of Milas, Muhammet Tokat, tweeted in the evening that the flames had hit the power plant.
The plant would be evacuated.
According to Doganay Tolunay, a forest engineer at Istanbul University, an estimated 100,000 hectares of land have fallen victim to the fires so far.
In Mugla alone, 2,000 houses have been damaged so far, and 16,000 people have had to leave their homes, according to the Interior Ministry.
In Antalya, the damage is estimated to be significantly higher.
So far, eight people have died in the fires.
Two people were also killed in forest fires in Albania and Kosovo, in Bulgaria two forest workers died trying to extinguish the fire on the border with Greece.
Great damage in Italy
In Italy, the fire brigade continued to fight flames, for example in Sicily in the province of Palermo.
Violent forest fires have been raging there for days.
Fire fighters from other parts of Italy came to support.
The civil protection authority of the popular holiday island predicted the highest fire risk level for the north and east again for Thursday.
The temperatures there are likely to be above 40 degrees in some places.
The Coldiretti Agricultural Association spoke on Wednesday of millions in damage to the environment, the tourism industry and other economic sectors.
The number of large fires had risen sharply this summer compared to previous years.
The large islands of Sicily and Sardinia as well as many southern Italian regions are particularly affected.
Thousands of hectares of forest and agricultural land were burned and many animals fell victim to the flames.
In the scorching heat and drought, strong winds drove the flames again and again.
wit / dpa