Fire from Kosovo advances toward Gračani; smoke reaches Skopje, says Angelov

A large wildfire that crossed the border from Kosovo has advanced into the area around the village of Gračani, and the smell of smoke is already being noticed in parts of Skopje, said Stojanche Angelov, director of the Directorate for Protection and Rescue (DZS). The fire developed a front more than five kilometres long as it entered the country.

Wide blaze activity across the country

Skopje firefighters, supported by teams from the Directorate for Protection and Rescue, are working on the ground to gain control of the blaze. While Angelov said there is no immediate danger to nearby settlements at this time, he warned that smoke is reaching the capital.

The national response agencies report that yesterday there were more than 41 wildfires across the country; weak rains in some areas provided only limited help to firefighters. Of the 41 fires, six remain active and five are under control.

One of the most severe active fires is located on the border between the municipalities of Struga and Debar, in the area of the villages Lukovo and Burinec. Because of the risk that flames could approach inhabited places, an army helicopter has intervened since this morning, and firefighters from Struga together with teams from National Forests are deployed on site. "I hope that the firefighters from Struga will establish control at least from the direction of the villages, so that they are not endangered. On site there are also members of 'National Forests', who are deployed along the fire line," Angelov said.

In the eastern part of the country, the fire between the villages of Puhče and Selce in the municipality of Štip is partially under control, but there are still burning spots at some locations. Blagoj Rendzhov, commander of the Štip Fire and Rescue Unit, said the fire still has a critical arm heading toward the village of Selce on Mount Serta and hopes cooler, calmer weather will help bring that flank under control. "We have one more arm that is critical toward the village Selce, but I hope that today the weather will serve us as well, meaning it will be cooler, there will not be many winds, so we can put that arm of the fire under control. Otherwise, last night the fire threatened the first weekend houses, because we have a settlement there. For that, additional forces were requested from the Directorate for Protection and the nearby municipalities. We managed to save the weekend houses and fortunately we have no injured persons," Rendzhov said.

Rendzhov also said investigators have information from an eyewitness indicating the fire may have been started deliberately, and police in Štip have been informed.

Angelov added that the fire on Pelister has been brought fully under control, although some smouldering and small flames still appear in spots; firefighters from Resen remain at the scene to tackle newly appearing hot spots, typically inside the burned area or along the fire line. He also reported new ignitions on Mount Kitka on the Skopje side, within the municipality of Studeničani — in the area of the village Količani — and a separate lowland fire near the village Cvetovo, also in Studeničani. "Again someone has set new fires, on which the Skopje firefighters are working. I expect all of them to be brought under control soon, but on one of them the terrain is very poor and there is a possibility it will not be quickly contained," Angelov said.

Most other active fires around the country are relatively small and do not currently threaten populated areas, authorities added.

Photo: press material from the event