Fires in Bulgaria: Experts assure safety of populated areas

In a statement made in the village of Ilindentsi, the advisor to the Interior Minister and former fire department director Nikolay Nikolov stated that despite ongoing fires in the country, there is no immediate danger to populated areas. Nikolov emphasized that three of the fires pose a more serious threat to forest areas.

The first of these fires is in the Sredets area, which has already been localized and is currently being fully extinguished. The second significant fire is in Sungurlare, where the affected area has already exceeded 16,000 decares. Nikolov reported that one of the fronts there has been successfully contained, while work on controlling the last front continues.

Special attention is being paid to the fire in Pirin, near the village of Ilindentsi. More than 160 people, including forest officials, military personnel, firefighters, and volunteers, continue their efforts to contain and extinguish the fire. Nikolov expressed optimism, saying:

Their efforts have definitely yielded results, and at the moment only two hotspots continue to cause problems. I hope tomorrow's result will be even better.

Commissioner Valentin Vasilev, director of the Regional Directorate of "Fire Safety and Population Protection" (RDFSPP) in Blagoevgrad, provided additional information about the situation near Ilindentsi. He announced that tomorrow attempts to extinguish the fire will begin in the early hours of the day, aiming for a more effective distribution of forces and resources. Vasilev emphasized the difficulties related to the terrain:

The terrain in the fire area is difficult to access. It cannot be reached by vehicles and requires a long time of walking.

To cope with the challenges, firefighters rely on various means of extinguishing. Vasilev explained:

As for equipment, we mainly use manual extinguishing tools. The other is aerial equipment – two planes and a helicopter. We use a line that is about 500-600 meters long, from a vehicle with a high-pressure pump, and we douse the fronts that we have contained with firebreaks.

Of particular concern is the proximity of the fire to Pirin National Park. Vasilev confirmed that there is a possibility the fire could enter the park's territory but specified that accurate measurements are needed to determine if this has already happened.

Despite the scale of the fire, Vasilev assured that it is not spreading uncontrollably. Currently, the fire is ground-level, mainly burning dry grasses and leaf litter.

The situation remains dynamic, and authorities continue to monitor the development of fires across the country, urging citizens to be vigilant and follow fire prevention measures.