site.bta563 Fires Extinguished in Bulgaria in Last Two Days amid Warm and Dry Weather

A total of 319 fires have been extinguished in the country over the past 24 hours, and another 244 fires on the day before, with no human lives lost, the General Directorate of Fire Safety and Population Protection - Ministry of Interior said on its website. The information is as of 06:00 Monday morning.

The fire safety authorities told BTA that the cause of the fires in most cases was human negligence in handling fire outdoors - burning dry grass and waste or a discarded cigarette butt, which, in combination with the unseasonably warm and dry weather and strong winds, leads to rapid fire ignition.

Firefighters have responded to 379 accident alerts on Sunday. There were 51 rescues and assistance operations. Nine false alerts were also registered.

Six fires were extinguished Sunday by firefighters from Kyustendil Region, the Regional Directorate of the Interior told BTA. The fire suppression efforts were hampered by strong winds. There was no danger to the population. Dry grasses and bushes were burning everywhere, the affected area is yet to be inspected, police spokeswoman Katja Tabachka told BTA.

A fire that broke out late on Saturday near the village of Dabrava in Lovech covered about 26 ha, according to the State Forestry, the Regional Directorate of the Interior Ministry in Lovech told BTA. No people were injured or buildings affected by the flames.

The fire started in ignited dry grasses and bushes and spread to 77 ha of woodlands. It come very near several houses but was suppressed on time by crews with five fire engines.

Lovech Mayor Strassimir Petkov wrote on Facebook that he was at the scene of the fire and kept in touch with the firefighters who were fighting the flames all night.

For the last two days in Montana, when the daily temperatures were around 20 C, 28 fires in forests and farm fields were extinguished in the region, the Montana Regional Directorate of the Interior reported.

In the municipality of Chiprovtsi, about 20 ha of pine forest in the western Balkan Range was destroyed over a couple of days. The fire was extinguished by firefighters, foresters and employees in the local municipality. About 20 ha of deciduous forest were saved. Damage from the fire to the forest is yet to be established.

Five people were injured in a fire in an apartment in the southern town of Haskovo on Sunday. Among them were three women aged 25, 38 and 68, a nine-month-old infant and a boy of seven. They were admitted to the local hospital after exposure to smoke. Ten other people were evacuated from the same apartment building.