site.btaLocalized Outbreaks of Fire Still Active in Pirin

There are still localized outbreaks of fire in Pirin, Ivan Rizov, director of the State Forestry Enterprise in Strumyani, told BTA. He explained that the area affected by the fire exceeds 4,500 hectares, according to satellite data. There is burning on the periphery, but it is low-level. The periphery of the fire is high in the mountains. There is no danger of crown fire. There is also no spread of the fire.

There is no danger to populated areas, Rizov said. He added that the fire has most likely entered the Pirin National Park, in the area between Sandanski and Strumyani.

“Firefighters and forestry officials are still on the ground. The local hotspots inside the fire are being dealt with. We cannot say that everything is over,”  Rizov noted.

"We are hoping for rain because local hotspots will continue to appear. The situation remains serious and we cannot say that the fire has been completely extinguished. The burned areas have not yet been surveyed. Accurate measurements of the areas will be made after the fire is declared extinguished," said Rizov.

The fire in the Ilindentsi area broke out on July 25, and forestry and fire department personnel have been trying to contain it for ten days. Once it has been completely extinguished, an inventory will be carried out to determine the exact size of the affected area. Forestry officials will conduct a survey to see which lands have been completely burned and which have been affected by the crown fire. Trees that have been affected by the fire will be completely cleared. “Where there is potential for natural regeneration, we will rely on natural regeneration, and where this is not possible, we will proceed with reforestation. There is a possibility that trees with crowns that have not been burned will recover. Some of them will most likely not recover because in most cases after a fire, insects and pests attack the already weakened trees,” Rizov explained.

Some of the trees less affected by the fire will also die, but the director hopes that those with unaffected crowns will survive. “We will rely on them for the forest's recovery. The trees in the lower part of the forest were about 50 years old. So, to achieve the same situation, it will take at least that long,” he commented.