Army Joins Fight against Large Forest Fire near Tvarditsa

The fire in a pine forest near Tvarditsa continues to be extinguished, the regional governor of Sliven Mincho Afutsov announced, quoted by BTA.

Throughout the night, fire crews have put out the fire near the village to restrict access to the houses.

Heavy machinery equipment makes clearings in the forest, state-provided bulldozer works on the ridge, and a smaller similar machine is trying to contain the fire to the east.

Since yesterday, a military helicopter has been helping to extinguish the fire from the air, and according to Afutsov, more than 30 flights have been made and more than 70 tons of water have been dumped.

The helicopter continues to operate today. About 40 servicemen are also expected to join and enter the forest at any moment. Volunteers will also take part in the extinguishing, after the municipality of Tvarditsa called on the citizens to help last night.

The fire is in a hard-to-reach area, on steep slopes and can only be put down by hand. Between 500 and 600 decares of pine forest in the Kutra area are engulfed in the fire that broke out yesterday after 2 p.m.

The fire is believed to have started from an unregulated landfill.

According to the regional governor, the fire has been contained and there is no danger for the nearby settlement, but around midnight and in the morning around 4 o'clock there were critical moments.

There is no dangerous smoke coming in the direction of the village, bu it depends on the wind and there are currently no such indications.

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