Wildfire near Bulgaria's Arbanasi Extinguished

A seven-hour firefighting operation extinguished the blaze which broke out Thursday near the historic Bulgarian village of Arbanasi. Photo by BGNES

The wildfire, which broke out Thursday near the historic Bulgarian village of Arbanasi, has been extinguished.

Nikolay Nikolov, head of Bulgaria's Fire Brigade and Civil Protection Directorate, explained Friday morning that the flames, which affected over 100 decares of pine wood, had been put out using a 5-ton helicopter.

The firefighting operation lasted more than seven hours and included a private airplane and seven specialized firefighting trucks from the firefighting departments in Veliko Tarnovo, Gorna Oryahovitsa, Gabrovo and Targovishte, according to reports of the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR).

Volunteers and army officers also fought the blaze, which is believed to have been started by human negligence.

The area is expected to smolder for a few more days and will be guarded overnight.

The Arbanasi village, situated about 5km northeast of Veliko Tarnovo, is known for the rich history and large number of monuments, such as 17th and 18th century churches and examples of Bulgarian National Revival architecture.

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