Wind-whipped flames bore down on the site of the ancient Olympics Sunday as massive forest fires that have killed 51 people raged across Greece, consuming villages and parched forests, according to AP. Most of the country's southern Peloponnese region was burning for a third day, and people fled in panic from hotels and villages near the Olympic site. «It's hell everywhere,» said Costas Lada, a resident of nearby Kolyri. «I've never seen anything like it.» Ladas, 47, said the blaze covered three kilometers (less than two miles) in three minutes. «The fire is now burning the Hill of Kronos, about 100 meters (yards) from the ancient site. The winds are so strong that I don't know whether the site's sprinkling system will stop it,» said Costas Sofianos, deputy mayor of Ancient Olympia. The village of Ancient Olympia stood between the fire and the ancient site itself. Police blocked roads to the area, and firefighting planes flew overhead. The army was called in to create a fire break, and the site's automatic sprinkling system had been activated, the Culture Ministry said, the minister, George Voulgarakis, headed to the ancient site to coordinate efforts to save the antiquities. «There is a huge mobilization in the area of Ancient Olympia,» the ministry said. «All means are being used, and all necessary measures have been taken.» A series of new fires also broke out Sunday in central Greece's region of Fthiotida _ one of the few areas that had not been affected by what has become the country's worst wildfire disaster, fire department spokesman Nikos Diamandis said. The government has declared a state of emergency.
