Fires in Bulgaria’s Rila Mountains contained – Interior Ministry
Despite the difficult terrain, the wildfires burning in the Rila Mountains are under control, the Interior Ministry said on August 21.
The fire near Bulgaria’s iconic Rila Monastery has been contained to about 15 ha, with about 90 fire-fighters and volunteers keeping watch to prevent it from spreading.
A second fire near Kocherinovo has been extinguished, but not before it burned 20ha of fruit trees.
The most recent fire, which erupted on August 20 near the village of Pastra, was the most dangerous, local authorities said, and threatened a nearby nature park. A helicopter was due to join the fire-fighting efforts to prevent the blaze from spreading, Kyustendil region governor Vladislav Stoikov said.
More wildfires are expected in Bulgaria in the coming days because of the approaching heat wave. On August 21, 24 of Bulgaria’s districts were issued a “code yellow” hazardous weather warnings because of the heat – the only areas not affected were Sofia, Pernik and Smolyan.
(Photo: Andreas Krappweis/sxc.hu)
