The fight against the large forest fire near the village of Dimovtsi, Gurkovo municipality, continues at full speed for the second consecutive day. The situation on the ground remains extremely dynamic and serious, as 19:52 on September 12, 2026 the element has already incinerated near 2000 acres of pine and mixed forest. Despite the scale of the disaster, the most important goal has been achieved – the settlement is fully protected and at the moment there is no direct danger to the lives of local residents and their homes.
Firefighters, foresters, military personnel and dozens of volunteers joined forces on the ground. According to information from bTV Novinite (btvnovinite.bg), over 120 people have been mobilized in the extinguishing operations, with the work organized in two main directions - east and west, in order to shrink the fire fronts. Last night, heavy equipment managed to build key protective clearings that stopped the flames from reaching the houses, which had previously only passed through the outer uninhabited buildings of two of the neighborhoods. Three bulldozers continue to operate on site.
Due to the complex and extremely difficult-to-access mountainous terrain, the operation is being carried out in parallel by air and land. Since the morning hours, two military helicopters "Cougar" from the 24th Air Base - Krumovo have been involved in the operation. The machines are constantly dousing the critical fires in the deep forest massif, drawing water from the immediate vicinity of the “Zhrebchevo“ dam.
As reported by the Bulgarian National Television (bntnews.bg), the partial state of emergency in the region remains in force, and the teams will remain on duty along the perimeter throughout the following night to prevent a possible re-ignition of the fire due to the expected increase in wind.