Expert: Bulgaria is in a fiery hell! To quickly ask for help from the EU

I appeal to Bulgaria to adequately activate the European Union systems for forest fires and the Civil Protection Mechanism, because at the moment we see the impossibility of the Bulgarian firefighters , forest officials and volunteers to cope. This was said by Georgi Stefanov, expert "Climate and Energy", in the program "Bulgaria, Europe and the world in focus" on Radio "Focus“.

According to him, the situation with the fires is very alarming. "Not only Bulgaria is on fire, but the whole region. From Spain to Ukraine and the Middle East, fires are everywhere. In these points, we observe the highest heat waves and temperature records”, the expert pointed out. Over 200 fires are currently raging in Bulgaria. The fire in Sakar has already covered an area of more than 100,000 decares. My appeal is to every single citizen, child, adult: Let's not underestimate the risk of prolonged high temperatures, let's be especially careful, because with this constant high-temperature irradiation, various objects become flammable. Literally, a spark can ignite from a bottle”, warned Stefanov.

At the moment, mainly artificial pine plantations are burning – white and black pine. These plantations were planted 40-60 years ago in low latitudes to stabilize soils and stop landslides. At the moment, they are turning into gunpowder funerals. Coniferous plantations are rich in resins and they are charged with an energy charge, the expert explained.

The situation with the oak forests in Sakar and Strandzha is completely different. "They have adapted to the fires and as long as it is on the ground and not too strong, these trees recover,” said Georgi Stefanov.

The Bulgarian state needs many and newer means for faster and adequate monitoring and extinguishing of fires. "In order for a fire to be quickly brought under control, there must be preventive work and when it happens, it must be extinguished very quickly and reactively. If it is not extinguished quickly, it will grow too uncontrollably and reach such a scale as the fire in Sakar, which currently exceeds 100,000 square km, explained Georgi Stefanov.

To control the fires raging in the country, aviation equipment and support from specialized employees who know how to work in a critical situation are needed, the expert stressed. The European Union's Civil Protection Mechanism can help fight the fires. "But here the paradox is that Bulgaria, which is actively involved in helping the floods and fires in neighboring Turkey, Greece and Italy, has never activated it until now. In the last 72 hours alone, dozens of houses burned down in Bulgaria”, he stressed.

According to him, the burned areas and the intensity of the fires are increasing with each passing year. "Last year in Bulgaria there were 148 fires and over 160,000 decares of burned areas. We currently have over 200 fires and only one of them is 2/3 of last year's area. The data for this year will probably be doubled or tripled, the expert predicts.

The global temperature has risen by 1.5 degrees per year. In June, 3 to 5 degrees above normal temperatures were reported in Bulgaria, pointed out Georgi Stefanov. "We will probably see such very high values in July as well. The entire Bulgarian society should talk very actively about adaptation, because it is not just about the trees. It is about the infrastructure, the urban environment, the people, the chronically ill, the electricity, the energy sources. Everything is connected, and when we talk about adaptation to climate change and high temperatures, we need to be fully aware – adaptation faces extreme possibilities for every living thing to survive, he explained.

The measures that the state must take must be national, but also at the regional level, with sufficient budget and funding. "A mandatory insurance resource should be introduced so that when the disaster occurs, there are sufficient funds to cover the costs, because the state has no budget for either the fires or the floods. Do we have to burn dozens of people to wake up and realize that climate change is a problem that affects the whole society, the whole planet, all the political forces? "Everyone is equally vulnerable and defenseless when a natural disaster occurs," the expert stressed.