Angelov says lack of cattle and fewer grazing animals help wildfires spread; he passed that information to PM Mickoski
Director of the Directorate for Protection and Rescue says fewer grazing animals and depopulated villages help fires spread; he told Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski the same information.
Stojanche Angelov, director of the Directorate for Protection and Rescue, told Kanal 77's programme "Stadion" on 22 August 2026 that the wildfires burning around rural settlements are driven in large part by depopulation and the sharp fall in free‑grazing livestock.
Explaining how vegetation structure affects fire behaviour, Angelov said: "Goats graze low and browse the low branches and growths of plants, and the fire cannot reach the other vegetation if it passes through them. Besides, we do not have sheep that used to graze the land, we do not have cattle."
Livestock decline, animals kept on farms
Angelov noted that where animals still exist they are typically kept on farms rather than being turned out to graze freely; he also said horses and donkeys have become rare. "Simply, livestock numbers are reduced to a minimum compared with what we had 70 years ago," he said, describing how past village practices helped keep grass and undergrowth lower.
The director added that he briefs Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski daily about the fires and receives support from higher levels of government. Angelov confirmed that he advised the prime minister to voice the now‑widely quoted link between the shortage of cows and the spread of fires.
"That is from me, I feed the prime minister with information. I brief him every morning," Angelov said, reiterating his role in providing the prime minister with regular updates.
Angelov made the comments during the 22 August broadcast while describing the current pattern of rural fires and the structural changes in mountain and village land‑use that, he argued, increase fire risk.
Photo: kallerna / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
