Main Directorate "Fire Safety and Population Protection" activated an emergency international mechanism to address the expanding fires in Bulgaria. The director of the directorate, Chief Commissioner Aleksandar Djartov, reported a large-scale operation to control the hotspots in the most affected regions.
According to official information, the most serious situation is concentrated in three main directions: a primary fire in the Strumyani municipality above the settlement of Ilindentsi, a second fire front in the Trŭn villages, and a third near the village of Lesovo, which has already crossed the state border with Turkey.
International assistance includes specialized flight equipment from four European countries - Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, and France, which will send helicopters, as well as two additional aircraft from Sweden. The first rescue teams are expected to land at Plovdiv Airport at 2:00 PM.
Statistics from the past day show an extremely tense situation. For the period from 00:00 to 24:00 on July 26, fire services received 291 incident reports, managing to liquidate 236 fires. In Sofia and regional directorates, an additional 145 incidents were registered - 109 of which were directly related to fires.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs also reported a health aspect of the emergency situation. In a ten-hour period, only the Single European Number 112 received 87 calls for deteriorating health conditions due to extreme temperatures. The Southeast region remains the most affected with 20 signals, followed by the Northeast with 16 calls.
At present, official authorities assured that no human casualties have been registered, despite extensive damage to property and forest territories. Rescue teams continue their round-the-clock work to control the fire hotspots.