An elderly man died in the Kumanovo village of Kokoshine, suffocated by the smoke of his burning house, the deceased's wife was successfully evacuated, said the director of the Crisis Management Center (CMC) in North Macedonia, Stoyanche Angelov, BTA reported.
There are more than 40 fires that engulfed the country yesterday, with more than 15 of them breaking out within one day, and aided by the wind, they spread quickly, covering 12 villages. According to Angelov, the helicopters of the army and the police, as well as the two specialized planes that North Macedonia has, did not achieve a particular result in extinguishing the fires spread by the wind, and during the night, the CMC will provide mechanization in order to make clearings that to stop the fire from spreading.
In the municipality of Kumanovo, three villages, where there are mostly villas, were affected by the fire, and several old houses were burnt. In the municipality of Staro Nagorichane, three villages with few inhabitants and old houses were also damaged. In the more populated village of Nemanichi in the municipality of Sveti Nikole, a dozen houses were burned, of which at least one was new, several houses were also burned in the village of Malino, but the CMC still does not have information on their exact number. There are also burnt houses in two villages in the municipality of Probishtip and in the village of Star Karaorman in the municipality of Shtip, as well as in Novo Selo, which is near the border with Bulgaria.