US man arrested for allegedly setting one wildfires in Europe

In the US, a man from Spokane, Washington has been arrested and charged with setting one of the three devastating wildfires that are burning through the region. Hundreds of firefighters, aided by water-dropping planes and helicopters, continue battling a major wildfire west of Athens as flames threatened more communities and forced fresh evacuations around the Greek capital.

Strong winds were dying down raising hopes that the nearly 500 firefighters battling the blaze could manage to halt its advance.

Authorities say the broader Athens region of Attica remained at a high risk for wildfires due to a forecast increase in temperatures. Firefighters in the Netherlands are battling a major wildfire in a forest in the southern province of Limburg as hot, dry weather fuelled the blaze. The Dutch air force sent two Chinook helicopters equipped with large water containers to help firefighters tackle the blaze.

In the US, a man from Spokane, Washington has been arrested and charged with setting one of the three devastating wildfires burning through the region.

The Spokane County Sheriff's Office said Aaron F. Farinacci, 37, was arrested and booked on suspicion of first degree arson in connection with the Old Trails Fire, the largest of the three blazes around Spokane. Sheriff,

Spokane County JOHN NOWELS: "The witness, a citizen, a very good citizen, noticed a male standing on the side of the road looking into the trees, as he was going to pick somebody up. About ten minutes later as he was coming through the area, he noticed the male was bending down near some grass, at that point the male stood up and looked very nervous, according to our citizen witness. At that point, the male walked away. The citizen returned to their house. A short time later after being at home they saw smoke coming from what they believed was the area that they had seen the male bending down, by the side of the road."

Together, the fires have destroyed at least 700 buildings and forced some 67,000 people to evacuate around the state's second-largest city.