In recent days, residents of the village of Skala and surrounding settlements in Sungurlare municipality faced a serious ordeal after a large-scale forest fire threatened the region. Today, however, the situation has normalized, and the danger to the local population has passed, announced the mayor of the municipality, Dimitar Gavazov.
The fire in the area of Skala village has been contained, there is no danger to populated areas, Gavazov stated to our team. He added that he expects the state of emergency, introduced due to the fire, to be lifted by the end of the day.
Preliminary assessments indicate that the fire has devastated about 20,000 decares of forest and grass vegetation. This is a significant area that will affect the local ecosystem and will require prolonged restoration efforts.
Despite the containment of the situation, firefighting teams continue to work on the ground, supported by 30 servicemen from the 42nd Mechanized Battalion. Many volunteers from the region are joining the efforts, demonstrating the strength of community solidarity in times of crisis.
Mayor Gavazov expressed gratitude to all those involved in extinguishing the fire and urged the residents of the municipality to remain vigilant for the remainder of the fire-hazardous season.
Experts from the Regional Inspectorate of Environment and Water will assess the damage to nature in the affected area. Measures for the restoration of the burned territories and prevention of future incidents are expected to be announced in the coming days.
The case from Sungurlare once again raises the question of the need for more effective measures to prevent and combat forest fires in the country, especially in the context of global warming and increasingly frequent extreme weather events.