Bulgaria offers help fighting large fire near Greek-Bulgarian border
Bulgarian military personnel were among those deployed to prevent a large fire burning close to the Greek-Bulgarian border from spreading into Bulgaria, according to a July 23 statement by the Defence Ministry.
Twenty-five military personnel from a unit in Blagoevgrad were cutting fire breaks near the villages of Goleshovo and Petrovo in Sandanski municipality in Blagoevgrad district, the ministry said.
Firefighters, foresters, military personnel and gendarmerie have been on the scene since morning and were continuing to monitor the situation, the Interior Ministry said.
The Interior Ministry said on July 23 that on the initiative of caretaker minister Kalin Stoyanov, a video conference call was held today with the Greek Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection of Greece, Vasilis Kikilias, to discuss the fire on Greek territory, which is in a difficult-to-access area.
The two ministers discussed the current situation in the neighbouring countries, emphasizing the excellent interaction, the statement said.
Stoyanov said that a large part of the personnel and resources that had fought the fire in the Yambol district for seven days had been relocated to the border, where it is possible that the fire could spread into Bulgaria.
Aircraft would also be directed there today, the statement said.
Given the situation, Stoyanov offered Greece forces to be involved in extinguishing the outbreaks on their territory.
The statement said that Kikilias expressed his gratitude to Bulgaria for the good operational cooperation that the fire services of both countries were maintaining.
“The situation affects the entire Balkan region. We are fighting fires, just like Bulgaria. Thank you for the help that the Interior Ministry sent to Greece both last year and this year,” he said.
The ground crews cannot reach the area of the fire, but at this stage forecasters were providing favourable forecasts for rainfall.
In a separate statement, the Interior Ministry said that as of 6am on July 23, there were no active fires on Bulgarian territory.
The fires in the Yambol villages of Voden, Kraynovo and Strandzha has been contained on all fronts, the ministry said.
(Archive photo: Interior Ministry)
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