Skopje, 3 August 2021 (MIA) – The Crisis Management Center (CMC) head Stojanche Angelov told a press briefing on Tuesday that Serbia has sent four helicopters to North Macedonia to assist in firefighting efforts. Slovenia and Greece, he added, have also said that they will provide assistance. “Serbian helicopters are set to arrive at the Skopje airport any minute now. They will take part in firefighting efforts in the afternoon. We’ll see how the situation unfolds in the next few hours, as wildfires are unpredictable,” Angelov told reporters. He added that several strong fires have been put under control and some have been localized, but stressed that the number of pilots flying fire extinguishing helicopters is limited. “Yesterday we only had one helicopter at our disposal. Workers are making superhuman efforts to ensure the second helicopter can fly safely,” Angelov stressed. Two helicopters were used to extinguish the Kochani wildfire early Tuesday morning, he briefed reporters. However, due to rising temperatures and fatigue, firefighters need to take a break and efforts will resume once temperatures decrease. “Although some fires may seemed naïve, they spread quickly. It only takes one small flame for the fire to spread. On the other hand, we can’t use only helicopters to extinguish the fire. The wind is spreading flames with incredible speed ,” the CMC head noted. He underlined that all firefighting forces have been mobilized in critical areas. A lot of local self-government members and citizens have volunteered to assist in fire extinguishing efforts. “Let’s not forget that there were three urban fires in Shtip on Monday, as well as 15 in Skopje. We can’t send all these teams to work on extinguishing wildfires now,” Angelov stressed. Nonetheless, Protection and Rescue Directorate employees are out in the field, as are a total of 200 Army members. “Firefighters can’t reach the area due to treacherous terrain. Extinguishing such strong wildfires puts people’s lives at risk. We can’t let a firefighter or soldier die, but we’re taking all possible measures,” Angelov added.