Skopje, 9 August 2022 (MIA) – Eighty-eight fires have been registered in August, 18 of which yesterday alone, with more than half likely to turn into serious fires, said Crisis Management Center (CMC) director Stojanche Angelov on Tuesday. Anglov said there had been 139 open-air fires in March, 141 in April, 193 in May, 191 in June and 91 in July. “The number is big and is no joke, but thanks to the swift intervention and early warning, the fires were tackled early and we prevented them from turning into large forest fires. Some were landfill fires but most were a serious threat, and aided by the dry vegetation and low precipitation, it does not make the situation easier,” Angelov told a press conference. He added that if the situation worsened and a state of crisis is declared, the Army and the police would be activated. “We have trained staff but we lack certain resources. We have about 800 fire-fighters at disposal nationwide, along with 170 firefighters-volunteers,” said Angelov.