Control re-established on wildfire near Selce (Shtip) after flare-up
Director Stojanche Angelov says crews re-established control after a daytime flare-up that threatened about 100 weekend houses along the dried Lakavica river.
Control has been re-established over a wildfire near the village of Selce, outside Shtip, after the blaze reignited during the day and threatened numerous weekend houses, the director of the Directorate for Protection and Rescue, Stojanche Angelov, said this afternoon.
Angelov said the fire had previously been brought fully under control but high temperatures and strong, locally characteristic winds caused it to flare up and briefly escape containment.
Reinforcements were sent because of the risk of further spread: professional firefighting units from Eastern Macedonia, teams from the Directorate and volunteer firefighters are engaged on the ground, together with multiple firefighting vehicles. An armoured BTR vehicle of the Directorate is being used to protect nearby weekend houses.
“Firefighters are making superhuman efforts to stop the fireline which causes the greatest concern because of the danger to the weekend houses located in the bed of the dried Lakavica river. There are somewhere around 100 weekend houses there,” Angelov said.
By mid‑afternoon he reported that control had been re-established and that firefighters were positioned at several points along the perimeter. He said teams expect to secure the section of the fire that threatens the weekend houses by the evening.
“What remains is to bring under control the upper part of the fire that is moving toward Mount Serta, where every year we have bitter experiences,” Angelov added.
From the air, Angelov said, the Directorate’s "erttractors" were involved in the suppression operation, together with two helicopters — one police and one military. He warned that the general fire danger remains high and that teams are also intervening in the areas around Struga, Bogovinje and Shtip.
Photo: ДЗС
