A partial state of emergency has been declared in the municipality of Svilengrad due to a fire that broke out this afternoon on the territory of Sakar Mountain, between the villages of Mladinovo, Lisovo and Kostur, DarikNews reports.
The fire has already covered 5,000 acres of forests and pastures, and continues to grow on the territory of Sakar Mountain. Due to the scale of the disaster, military personnel will also be involved in extinguishing the fire, the Haskovo regional administration announced.
The fight against the elements is greatly complicated by the strong wind and the difficult-to-access terrain, which led to the rapid expansion of the fire from 1,000 to 5,000 acres within a few hours.
13 fire trucks from the RDPBZN-Haskovo, one bulldozer and the volunteer formation from Svilengrad are working on site. Employees of the State Forestry Enterprises in Svilengrad, Topolovgrad and Harmanli are also actively participating in the extinguishing.
A helicopter has also been sent to assist the ground teams, and will continue to assist from the air on Tuesday. It is expected that servicemen from the military formation in Haskovo will also be involved in the firefighting efforts.
The regional administration assures that at this time there is no danger to the settlements in the area.