As of 9:00 p.m. local time (10:00 p.m. Bulgarian time) on Thursday, nine fires are active in the territory of the Republic of North Macedonia. This was reported by the Crisis Management Center, BTA reports.
During the day, firefighters fought a total of 30 fires.
For the first three days of July alone, 43 fires in open spaces were registered in the country, the director of the Protection and Rescue Directorate, Stoyanche Angelov, announced at a press conference.
Angelov called on citizens with villas or properties in partially or completely abandoned villages to clean up their yards, emphasizing that in the fire, which has been raging for the third day in the municipality of Valandovo, there was a danger that houses inhabited by elderly people would be affected. These properties were not mowed and pose a serious risk.
„I call on citizens to mow the grass or plow their yards. This will help us in fighting the fires. With the expected drought and high temperatures, this summer is shaping up to be extremely difficult. If we do not act preventively, we will have to focus on protecting settlements, not just on the fires themselves“, Angelov warned.
He also appealed to farmers not to light fires in the open, not to burn stubble, dry grass, pastures and bushes.
At the moment, the Directorate for Protection and Rescue has one specialized aircraft for extinguishing fires. The second aircraft is expected to return from repairs next week, while the deadline for completing the repairs of the third remains unknown.
According to Angelov, this year's fire season started earlier and forecasts indicate that the country is in for a difficult and trying summer.
Last year, North Macedonia was hit by numerous fires, for which assistance was sought through the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism.