Army Servicemen Join Firefighters to Battle Forest Blaze in Bulgaria's Harmanli Municipality

A fire spread in a pine forest near the village of Ostar Kamak in Harmanli Municipality, southern Bulgaria, 22 August 2016. Photo by BGNES

Bulgarian Army servicemen have joined efforts to put down a wildfire in Harmanli Municipality for a second time in as many days, the Defence Ministry announced on Tuesday.

Thirty-one servicemen equipped with specialized vehicles help firefighters contain the spread of fire in an area between the villages of Ostar Kamak and Nadezhden in Harmanli Municipality, the ministry said in a statement.

The fire has spread across a pine forest in the area. No evacuation of the two villages is needed, the authorities have said.

On Monday, the army was called in to help batlle another fire that broke over the weekend in Harmanli Municipality, in Sakar Mountain located next to the border with Turkey.

The fire that raged between the villages of Izvorovo and Dripchevo ehgulfed over 5,000 hectares of vegetation, including 500ha of almond trees and vineyards, sunflower fields and pastures before it was contained. A Bulgarian Air Force Mi-24 helicopter took part in fighting the blaze there on Sunday.

 

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