site.btaPartial Emergency Declared in Lesovo as Wildfire Nears Border

A partial state of emergency was declared for the village of Lesovo on Sunday by order of the mayor of the border municipality of Elhovo (Yambol Region), Petar Gendov. The village has lent its name to a border crossing to Turkiye in the same area.

“This morning we managed to enter the fire zone from the direction of the village, and for now, the situation there is under control,” said Commissioner Ivan Dinev, Director of the Regional Directorate for Fire Safety and Civil Protection (RDFSP) – Yambol, in a statement to BTA. He added that the greatest danger currently lies along the border with Turkiye.

The partial state of emergency will remain in effect for 24 hours. The reason is the threat that more agricultural land and forest could catch fire in the direction of the village, explained Mayor Gendov.

At present, there is no immediate threat to the village itself. The fire front is about 1.5 kilometres from Lesovo, said Commissioner Dinev.

The fire has engulfed 1,500 hectares of dry grass, shrubs, and deciduous forest in difficult-to-access terrain. Fifteen firefighting teams from seven regions across Bulgaria were on site by Sunday morning, as well as six specialized vehicles and firefighting teams from Turkiye.

Firefighters are facing major difficulties due to the rugged terrain, which is inaccessible even to specialized vehicles. “It was risky to send people in on foot, as the vegetation is very tall and there was a real danger they could be overtaken by the flames,” Dinev told BTA.

“We studied entry points in order to be able to directly attack the fire. Fortunately, this morning we were able to approach it from the village side, and the situation there is now calm,” he added. A total of 13 teams worked to contain the fire from the direction of the village. “We can say that the fire there is now under control. We’re putting out remaining hotspots,” said Dinev.

The situation is more complicated on the side near the border with Turkiye. Turkish teams and two Bulgarian units are currently working there, Dinev noted. The fire has not crossed into Turkish territory, but tall grass along the border fence continues to catch fire periodically.

The cause of the fire was agricultural machinery operating in a field during the hottest part of the day, Mayor Gendov said. “I can’t say exactly what caused it, but it’s possible a spark ignited the blaze,” he added.

The fire is far from the Lesovo border checkpoint, Commissioner Dinev confirmed to BTA.

Yambol Regional Governor Nikolay Kostadinov also stated that there is currently no danger to the village. Last night, he activated the BG-Alert early warning system. “We activated the system as a preventive measure, because the fire was just 1.5 to 2 kilometres from Lesovo and the wind was pushing it in the direction of the village,” Kostadinov said.