Around twenty open-area fires; the fire in Struga is under control

Today around twenty fires in open areas were reported, most of them have already been extinguished, and the remaining ones have been brought under control and are expected to be completely extinguished during the day, the director of the Directorate for Protection and Rescue announced.

Stojanche Angelov emphasized that teams continue to monitor and extinguish hotspots and that no aerial firefighting assets were deployed today.

Regarding the most visible fire he clarified: "A fire that was visible from afar and caused some concern among citizens is the fire on the territory of the Municipality of Struga. Specifically, we had two open-area fires — one is completely extinguished, and the second has been brought fully under control. I expect it to be extinguished shortly. During today there were no requests for the engagement of air tractors," Angelov said.

The water in Gostivar is still not safe to drink

Angelov said that the situation with the water in Gostivar has not changed — in some of the samples taken by the Institute of Public Health bacteria are still present, which is why the water is not safe to drink.

He added: "The water is still allowed only for technical use, but we expect it to be declared safe shortly. Hyperchlorination continues," Angelov said.

Local services urged residents to follow official notices and not to use the water for drinking until notified otherwise.

Photo: Sloboden Pechat