site.btaLarger Wildfires "Have Been Contained"

The larger wildfires in Bulgaria have been contained. Firefighters are currently battling 37 blazes. The effort involves 186 employees and 65 units of equipment, Alexander Dzhartov, Head of the Directorate General for Fire Safety and Disaster Response, said on Thursday. Dzhartov was inspecting the fight against a forest fire which was still raging near Dabovets, Haskovo Region, close to the meeting point of the borders of Bulgaria, Greece and Turkiye.

A fire in the vicinity of Frog Lake in Mt Pirin, Southwestern Bulgaria, probably caused by a lightning, has affected bog pines. Firefighters have been sent to the spot. Blazes in the southern regions of Burgas and Plovdiv have been contained, Dzhartov said.

Another region in the south of the country, Haskovo, has been in a state of disaster since Wednesday. Three blazes remained active in the region by Thursday morning, with the one in Dabovets being the most problematic. The situation here is not as alarming as on Wednesday, because temperatures have gone down, Dzhartov said. He added that heavy-duty tracked vehicles have arrived to aid the firefighters.

Nikolai Valchev, Head of the Haskovo Regional Directorate of Fire Safety and Disaster Response, said that the rough terrain and the blowing wind are the main challenges associated with the wildfire at Dabovets. Valchev does not believe that the fire can be contained by the end of the day on Thursday.