Firefighters work to extinguish a wildfire raging since four days in the Megara Region, west of Athens on August 3, 2026. (Photo: AFP)

Greek authorities placed a town mayor in pre-trial detention on Friday after charging him with arson over a wildfire that ravaged large areas of forest near Athens last week.

Investigators believe the blaze started with a spark from power cables managed by a private company near Agios Vasileios, a seaside village at the foot of a mountain 85 kilometres (50 miles) northwest of Athens.

Fanned by wind gusts of up to 130 kilometres per hour, the fire quickly spread towards the southern slopes of Mount Kithairon and reached a town about 40 kilometres from Athens.

Giannis Apostolou, mayor of the small town of Stylida in a different part of Greece, owns an electrical installation company linked to a wind farm in the affected area. Investigators are accusing him and a contractor of arson and damaging public utilities.

Both men could face more than 10 years in jail if convicted.