Skopje, 9 August 2021 (MIA) – All the villages where there were fires have been secured with the methods used by any firefighting service in the world, Crisis Management Center Director Stojanche Angelov told a news conference Monday. He pointed out that the places have been plowed and a buffer area has been created through which the fires can’t pass. There are cisterns there in case the fire does cross over to the other side of the buffer area so that the village isn’t in danger. “The danger has been reduced, we’re focusing on the forests now. Earlier, the fire above village Budinari started back up out of nowhere. I saw it yesterday, there was a bit of smoke in one spot, and a few minutes later the flames reached the sky; columns of flame reaching tens of meters up into the air. Pine is flammable and it contains sap. The fire doesn’t burn the whole tree, but it does burn sap and leaves, which is why it’s hard to manage. That’s why fires in beech and other deciduous trees forests are relatively easier to manage,” Angelov said. He said it was not true that the locals put out any fire anywhere, adding that information spread on social media that the fire above Budinari was right next to the village was incorrect. The tempo of the fire above Budinari is variable. There are forces in the field constantly prepared to react if the fire starts going towards the village, Angelov said. Marija Milkova, assistant manager of the CMC Operations and Coordination Sector, informed of the briefed about the situation involving wildfires in the country. She said that the Territorial Firefighting Unit from Bulgaria has left, and the firefighting equipment lent by Bulgaria has been returned. “The firefighters left earlier this morning. We are immensely grateful for their help, especially to Bulgaria, who lent us their resources in the beginning when the crisis was at its highest. We’re also grateful to Slovenia, Austria. The airplane of the Romanian Military Airforce is staying,” Milkova said. There is a fire in Rosoman, Kavadarci, near Motel Drenovo. Crews from the Kavadarci TFFU and the police are there. Traffic is still in motion on the road here, and the condition is being monitored. The fire in the Delchevo region, village Razlovci-Nov Istevnik, as the CMC previously said, is under control, but it doesn’t mean it’s fully out because some places are still smoking, Milkova points out. The TFFU crews are there, as well as Army representatives, locals and other subjects are monitoring the fire so that it doesn’t start back up again. The fire in the Budinari village in Pehchevo is still ongoing. High quality pine trees are on fire, and employees from forest companies, EVN, locals, international teams from Slovenia, Austria, trade associations, 40 army soldiers and one army chopper are working on this inaccessible terrain. Another active fire is in Saraj – Skopje, between the villages Raovikj, Bukovikj and Laskarci. Low-trunk, mixed woods and tall grass are on fire there on highly inaccessible terrain. It’s characteristic, according to Milkova, that the fire is going up towards the ridge. There are people from National Park Jasen, TFFU representatives are on site to monitor the fire, there will be drones there to see the terrain so that the fire gets localized on time. The fire in the Petrovec village Divlje has reached the village, mixed woods are on fire somewhere behind the church. The fire is being monitored, there are representatives from Karadjica Forest Services, 30 soldiers and units of the Territorial Firefighting Brigade on site. There is an active fire in Staro Nagorichane, Drenak village that started burning last night at 8 pm, between villages Drenak, Zheljubino and Aljince. There are representatives from the Staro Nagorichane Territorial Firefighting Brigade and locals, but the fire isn’t dangerous. “The fire in village Toplica, Prilep, has been burning for several days in three locations. The plane by the Romanian Military Airforce SPARTA has been there since 10:30, we expect them to return and give us the results they achieved from putting out this fire,” she said. She added that the fire that started burning in Shtip, between villages Dragoevo and Selce has been put out. The fire in the Bitola village Velushina that started at 7:30 pm last night was put under control for a while, but as of this morning it has been reactivated and partially localized. dk/ba/