Dozens of soldiers and firefighters continued Tuesday to put out fires that have been raging since the beginning of the week in southern Albania, near the border with Greece, the Ministry of Defense announced.

One person was arrested on Tuesday morning and is facing criminal charges for “intentional arson”, announced Interior Minister Tauland Bala.

Fires were brought under control yesterday Monday evening, but the very high temperatures and the wind are making the work of the firefighting forces difficult near the villages of Dropoul (Dropoli) and Finik (Finiki), according to the announcement of the Ministry of Defense.

Defense Minister Nikos Pelesi uploaded footage from the operations to Facebook. “A Cougar helicopter and approximately thirty members of our armed forces resumed (yesterday) morning operations to extinguish the fire raging in villages around Dropul,” he wrote.

According to an announcement by the Albanian police, 17 people have been charged with arson in Albania in a month, as a heat wave significantly increases the risk of fires.

The focus of the fire is located a few kilometers south of the tourist town of Argyrokastro.

Since Monday, the Balkans have been facing a heat wave that is expected to last until the end of the week and temperatures in Albania exceed 40° Celsius.