site.btaNorth Macedonia Declares State of Crisis for 30 Days Due to Fires

The government of North Macedonia has declared a state of crisis due to the increasing number of fires in the country.

"The government proposes to the President of the Republic of North Macedonia to decide on the participation of some members of the army to deal with the crisis situation," the government press service in Skopje said in a statement.

By a government decision taken Saturday evening, the Interior Ministry has been instructed to commit police forces to put out the fires. The Health Ministry and health staff are to be on standby for the duration of the crisis, and the Finance Ministry has committed to provide additional allocated financial resources should the need arise. The Crisis Management Centre's Headquarters is to immediately start preparing an action plan for fire prevention and containment, and a full review of available human and material resources and a coordinated action plan.

The country's Crisis Management Centre reports that there are seven active fires on the territory of North Macedonia, five of which have been burning for several days.

There is still an active fire in the municipality of Novo Selo in the Ograzhden mountain, in the Serta mountain, Negotino municipality, where the Shtip-Negotino road has been closed since last night. Fires are also burning in the Kozhuh mountains near Gevgelija, as well as in Prilep, Shtip, Velesko and in the Konche municipality. 

One of the government's recommendations is for citizens to be careful when crossing forests and forest belts and areas affected by fires.

"A hundred servicemen and two MI 8/17 helicopters have been involved in firefighting in the Negotino region since the early morning hours," a statement from the army headquarters said.

According to the Crisis Management Centre, 173 large-scale open fires have been recorded since the beginning of this month as of July 12.

The state of crisis will last for 30 days. 

According to the weather forecast, temperatures are also expected to reach 42C next week and not drop below 21C at night.