GREECE (NBC NEWS)-- In Greece, they are calling this black Saturday... and the areas around the village of Zaharo, a crematorium. Overnight, the flames were unstoppable, and by daybreak, this was what was left.

More than 30 people died in this area alone--including a mother and her four children. Even those who jumped in their cars to escape had no where to run--some crashing into each other in the panic.

"We could see dead people on the road..some of them we couldn't recognize. i don't know where my wife is. What can I tell you," one victim explains.

More than 170 fires have devastated vast areas of the country since Friday converging to create raging infernos that stretch for miles, moving so fast officials still have no estimate of the damage.

People in the path of the flames have been told to abandon their homes, but fearing overstretched emergency services won't reach them, some are refusing to leave using whatever they can to beat back the flames.

"There are no firefighters. I called our local fire department and no one answered. It's mayhem," another man says.

In some cases relatives rushed to the rescue, only to find they were too late.

Though the hot dry weather is a major factor, arson is suspected as the cause of several of the fires..and one 65 year old man has been charged with multiple counts of homicide. The Greek Prime minister has declared a state of emergency. and appealed for help. Several European countries are sending waterbombers and firefighters.

The fires have now reached the outskirts of Athens... and with gale force winds still fanning the flames across parched land, all some can do is pray.

Dawna Friesen, NBC News, London