As the summer heat intensifies, multiple wildfires are impacting eastern Bulgaria.
Since July 13, wildfires have been ravaging the Stara Zagora area, where the FIRE-RES Living Lab is located, along with other significant blazes concentrated in Sakar Mountain near Topolovgrad and Ivaylovgrad in Haskovo province.
According to the ERCC – Emergency Response Coordination Centre, the wildfire in Sakar Mountain extended over 6,500 hectares, while the one near Stara Zagora covered 312 hectares. Another fire critically developed on the Bulgarian-Greek border, in the area of Slavyanka Mountain. Despite the relentless efforts of firefighters, the fires are not yet under control, driven by extremely dry conditions and strong winds. The toll on local communities is severe: several houses have been damaged in Gornoselci and Ivaylovgrad, and about ten uninhabited homes in Srem have been lost. The immediate danger remains high, with fire forecasts predicting very high to extreme fire danger across the affected areas. Assoc. Dr Georgi Kostov, leading the team responsible for the Living Lab activities, declared on July 18:
In the country, it is currently the 14th consecutive day with temperatures above 35 degrees, even in the mountains, which aggravates the multiple fires situation
As reported by the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), the activation of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism promptly followed the urgent requests for assistance of Bulgaria and North Macedonia, leading to the deployment of two helicopters from the Czech Republic to aid in firefighting efforts.
The latest developments accelerated the sealing of an important agreement on July 17, 2024, in the meeting hall of the Kazanlak Municipality. The Agreement focusses on Cooperation and Integrated Landscape Management to prevent significant wildfires and represents a crucial milestone in Bulgaria’s ongoing combat and prevention efforts through collaborative and innovative approaches.
