Thousands of Greeks fled towering walls of flame yesterday as strong winds fanned fires that have devastated the country and killed 63 people in four days.

Helicopters winched people out of blazing hamlets while the country’s worst fires in decades showed no sign of abating. Dozens raged unchecked. The Government yesterday announced a €200 million (£135 million) package to provide immediate disaster relief to affected areas.

A serious fire still blazed around the town of Krestena, which on Sunday barely escaped being burnt to the ground. About 3,000 people from nearby villages were gathered in Krestena awaiting evacuation. At Olympia, the grass on the banks of the excavated stadium was charred and the neighbouring Mount of Kronion was a blackened heap. A water-bomber helicopter managed to save the museum.

Officials admitted that an antifire system had been in place around the perimeter of Olympia since the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens but that it had failed out of sheer neglect.

Vyron Polydoras, the Public Order Minister, said that the Greek antiterrorism squad had been mobilised as he had “strong indications” that many, if not most, of the fires had been deliberately started. A 77-year-old woman was arrested for allegedly starting a fire inadvertently while lighting an outdoor stove. Seven people have been charged with arson so far.

Theories about who the alleged arsonists are ranged from terrorists to property developers. Some believe that developers are trying to clear land along a projected motorway in the Western Peloponnese to depress land prices and make a profit when the projected road is built and adjacent property prices go up. The line of the worst fires seems to follow the route.

Commentators said that the fire disaster ought to wake up leading political parties to the need for urgent environmental protection laws.

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