Fire in Haskovo Region Spreads Over 800 ha

A fire has spread over an area of 800 ha, half of which are forests, near the southeastern villages of Bryagovo, Lyubenovo and Rodopi, the head of the Fire Safety and Civil Protection General Directorate, Chief Commissioner Nikolay Nikolov said Tuesday.

A total of 93 firefighters, forest rangers and military personnel are fighting the fire, he said. According to Nikolov, the change in wind direction and intensity, which is expected in the afternoon, could potentially create problems. Nevertheless, he expects that the situation will calm down and only firefighters on duty will remain on site to observe the perimeter.

The Haskovo Regional Prosecution Office has launched an investigation into the fire, which was likely caused by human negligence. Regional Prosecutor Roumen Sirakov explained that no suspects have been identified as of yet.

Another fire in a waste processing plant near the southern village of Shishmantsi has been localized, the Interior Ministry reported in a press release on Tuesday. An air quality test has not established any concentrations of hazardous particles, the press release said. Chief Commissioner Nikolov also confirmed that no critical levels that would pose a risk to people's health and lives have been detected.

Regardless of that, Nikolov urged residents of villages near Shishmantsi to keep their windows and doors tightly closed until further instructed that the danger has passed.

Nikolov warned that the whole country is in a serious fire-hazardous situation and people must be careful as to not cause fires, and to report such immediately if they see them.