The main front of the fire is in the village of Ponor. Most of the fire brigade teams and volunteer formations are concentrated there.
This was told to BTA by Kristina Nenova from the volunteer formation “Phoenix“ at the Kostinbrod Municipality, which is participating in extinguishing the fire in the village of Bezden. Earlier yesterday, the Kostinbrod Municipality declared a partial state of emergency in connection with the fires that affected the villages of Bezden, Bogyovtsi and Opitsvet.
The fire has covered a huge territory, Nenova said. According to our information, it started from the territory of the Slivnitsa Municipality, then entered the territory of the Kostinbrod Municipality and affected the villages of Bezden, Opitsvet, Bogyovtsi. It is already in Ponor, crossed the main road and is also going to the neighboring villages. The situation is very difficult, Nenova pointed out. According to her, many volunteers have responded to the appeal of the Kostinbrod municipality and the fire department. We are fighting with all our might to put out the fire. There are many burned houses, fortunately and fortunately at this moment there is no information about injured people, Nenova said.
From the volunteer formation "Phoenix" to the Kostinbrod municipality, the volunteers who are on the ground are about 10-15 people, and already the volunteers who came are about 1000 people. We have been here since 18:00, directing volunteers, coordinating everything with the fire department. Fire teams are helping the firefighters from Kostinbrod and Sofia. The situation is extremely serious, but I think it is under control, Nenova added.
She explained that in view of the health of the people who come to put out the fires and the onset of night, no more people are needed for now. Because of the fire, traffic on the main road Sofia - Montana through Petrohan is regulated by police. Near the fork to the village of Beledie Han, flames can be seen high up in the mountain. Those wishing to join the fight against the fire have also gathered at the fork.
A sharp and suffocating smell is felt in the village of Bezden. The situation there is gradually normalizing after the fire element has passed.
In the center of the village, the volunteers participating in extinguishing the fire have a meeting point. For the moment, no more people are expected to join the firefighting effort due to the onset of darkness.
The burned houses are about twenty, local residents say. In the village, the fire came from the Slivnitsa municipality and quickly engulfed houses and vegetation along its path. It then spread to the neighboring village of Bakyovtsi, people say. On the road to the villages of Bezden and Beledie Han, numerous fire trucks were seen, as well as agricultural machinery for clearing. The police are blocking the traffic of passing cars.