Efforts Intensify as New Fire Outbreak Crosses from Greece to Bulgaria

A new outbreak of the significant fire in the Greek part of the Slavyanka mountain has crossed into Bulgarian territory, expanding the fire's perimeter on the Bulgarian side, report BNR and BNT.

Another transfer of the fire from Greece has opened a new perimeter of about 1,200 decares. Heavy bulldozers have already started creating wide clearings to limit the fire's spread, according to Plamen Poyukov, the director of forestry in Katuntsi. For BNR he stated, "The situation worsened - 1 km from the western front, where they had limited the perimeter with a firebreak, a new fire entered from the Greek side in a territory with fast-burning junipers. From today, we distribute all available resources on two fronts."

The fires have been localized in several areas, including the Blagoevgrad village of Senokos, Kyustendil's Tsarvaritsa, and the Perni village of Chuipetlovo. Firefighters with equipment and forest officials are on duty at these outbreaks. There is also a team on duty under Mount Sharalia, in the Pirin National Park, where the fire spread has been contained, but smoldering outbreaks remain within the perimeter, which is challenging due to the rugged terrain.

Near the villages of Tsarvaritsa and Ilia in the Nevestino municipality, Kyustendil district, fire service employees, the Southwest State Enterprise, the Regional Directorate of Forestry, soldiers, and volunteers continue to combat the fire, which has been localized on four sides. Over the past night, duty teams remained on the scene. The fire has covered about 1,000 decares, including 500 decares of forest and some agricultural land.

In the east and north, the fire is low-lying but has affected a large area in the "Ali botush" bioreserve. Today, firefighters, forest officials, and the military will deploy high-terrain fire trucks to create water lines to contain the fire. "On the eastern front things are not calmer; today we will try from the upper side together with colleagues from the fire service and the military to make about 1.5 km of water line," added Poyukov.

Spanish planes that arrived yesterday are involved in the air extinguishing efforts, and Bulgarian military helicopters are also expected to assist. For the third week, the fire continues to burn in the Slavyanka mountain on the Bulgarian-Greek border, focusing the efforts of all teams today.

The eastern front is particularly challenging to control due to the rugged terrain, making ground extinguishing extremely difficult. The fire has reached 5 kilometers from the village of Goleshevo. Although there is no immediate danger to the settlement, an additional clearing is being made with a chained 50-ton bulldozer as a preventive measure. From the west, new outbreaks from Greece complicate the fire's localization.

In Senokos, the situation remains calm, with the perimeter continually being traversed and additional stripes created. Smoldering fires persist inland and are being managed by firefighters, foresters, and the military. Yesterday, the crews of two Swedish planes were thanked and sent off for their assistance.

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