Forest fires that have killed 61 people in Greece raged for a fourth day yesterday, with at least 89 blazes still burning across the country as strong winds fanned flames and hampered fire-fighting efforts.

The worst forest fires in decades have swept across Greece?s southern Peloponnese peninsula, Attica and the island of Evia, razing hundreds of villages and almost destroying the ancient site of Olympia. Towering walls of flame have destroyed livestock and left thousands of people homeless.

?We are destroyed. Our dogs, our rabbits and our poultry have all been burned. Nothing is left,? a resident of the village of Artemida near the town of Zacharo told Greek state-run television station NET. ?How can I survive now??

The inferno has caused unprecedented destruction, leaving hillsides blackened, destroying forests, and gutting hundreds of houses.

On Sunday, firefighters, volunteers and site employees saved the temples and stadiums of Olympia, birthplace of the Olympic Games, as flames licked the walls of the site?s museum.

Firefighters were concentrating on stemming the fire?s advance on the town of Gryllo, between the devastated town of Zacharo and Ancient Olympia in the Peloponnese.

Thousands of people have fled the fires, seeking temporary refuge in schools, hotels and regional health centers.

Arson suspected

The government offered rewards of up to a million euros ($1.36 million) on Sunday for help in tracking down arsonists whom it suggests have played a major role in the fires.

The inferno has cut a swathe of destruction through the southern Peloponnese and the island of Evia near the capital and swept across other regions, prompting Greece to declare a nationwide state of emergency on Saturday.

?The destruction is of biblical proportions,? Nicholas Orphanos, a volunteer firefighter in the Peloponnese, told reporters. ?There are villages we want to go to and we cannot because the roads are blocked. In 30 years, I have never seen such destruction.?

The fires covered Athens in white ash that swirled round the temples of the Acropolis. The smell of smoke permeates the city.

Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis has called a snap parliamentary election on September 16. He has suggested arsonists are behind the fires.

?The reward is set between 100 000 and 1 million euros for every (act of) arson, depending on whether death or serious injury occurred and the size of the damage,? the Public Order Ministry said in a statement.

Many local mayors have accused rogue land developers of setting fires to make way for new construction on virgin forest and farm land. So far, police have arrested two elderly people and two boys on suspicion of starting fires deliberately.

The overstretched fire brigade threw reinforcements from Greece?s European Union partners into action to fight blazes stretching over 160 km (100 miles) across the Peloponnese and other regions.