Fire front near homes: Day and night fight against fires in Bogomila and Pelagonia

Around-the-clock and intense firefighting continued after the fires that on August 13 and the morning of August 14 brought the fire threat dangerously close to houses in the village of Bogomila and in several villages in Pelagonia. Authorities report that this morning six fires were still active, while a large number of open-space fires were registered the previous day.

The director of the Directorate for Protection and Rescue, Stojanche Angelov, assessed that Thursday, August 13, was the hardest day of the season because the fire fronts directly threatened populated areas. According to him, more than 40 open-space fires were registered during the day, and by 07:30 a.m. a total of 40 fires had been recorded: six active, three under control and 31 extinguished.

The most critical situation was in Bogomila (Municipality of Chaska), where the fire approached the first houses, but the local population together with the arriving firefighters managed to prevent its spread toward the village. "Thanks to the brave and quick reaction, above all by the local population, a catastrophe was prevented. Firefighters from Veles arrived quickly as well, and they made a major contribution to localizing, bringing under control and extinguishing this difficult fire," Angelov said.

Brave tractor driver on the front line

The hardest situation, according to Angelov, was in Pelagonia — in the villages of Ivanjevci, Loznani and Novoselani. He emphasized the courage of one local resident: "I want to highlight one local resident, a brave tractor driver from the village of Ivanjevci, Ace, who with his huge tractor did a great deed by plowing directly through the fire line and extinguishing a large part of the fire that was threatening some of the houses in Loznani. The battle was very difficult," Angelov said, describing how the tractor broke up the flammable surface and slowed the spread.

On the ground were engaged four Pinzgauer vehicles of the Directorate for Protection and Rescue, the local firefighters from Bitola and about 20 members of the Volunteer Firefighting Society "Arhangel" from Bitola. In the incident one person suffered burns to the hands and was transported to hospital.

The Crisis Management Center listed the locations of the active fires: Municipality of Studenicani (above the villages Morane, Vrtekica and Ramni Gaber); Municipality of Macedonski Brod (near the Vidush locality and the village Dragov Dol); Municipality of Bitola (near the village Lopatitsa); Municipality of Novaci (near the villages Makovo, Mojno and Brnik); Municipality of Krusevo (on the Aldanci–Norovo stretch) and Municipality of Veles (near the village Slp). Fires are under control at the dump in Delchevo, in the Municipality of Mogila near the villages Loznani and Vasharejca, as well as near the village Kopance in the Municipality of Jegunovce.

Angelov appealed to citizens to be extremely careful due to high temperatures and strong winds: "The number of more than 50 fires is seriously exhausting our resources. It takes only one spark for a real catastrophe to happen," the director of the Directorate for Protection and Rescue warned these days. For extinguishing, a specialized module of the Directorate for Protection and Rescue composed of 25 volunteers and five operators was also used on the harder-to-reach rocky terrain in Macedonski Brod, and in the Ramni Gaber area three air-tractors, one Ministry of Interior aircraft and ground teams intervened.

Institutions also reported effects beyond the borders: five Macedonian families requested help or assistance with evacuation from areas affected by fires in Greece. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade said they were directed to the nearest designated points, where they were accommodated together with other tourists, and it urged Macedonian citizens in the affected areas to carefully follow the recommendations of local authorities and to contact the duty phone numbers if they need assistance.

Photo: press material from the event