site.btaUPDATED Petrohan Pass Closed due to Heavy Snowfall, Villages in NW, SW Bulgaria Left without Power

For a second consecutive day, heavy snow continues to fall at the Petrohan Pass in the Balkan Mountains – the shortest route connecting the northwestern regions of Montana and Vidin to Sofia. Five snowploughs are working to clear the road, but Thursday night the pass was closed to traffic in one direction, and Friday morning it was shut completely, said Kalin Haitov, the Regional Governor of Montana, in a statement to BTA.

Meanwhile, villages in Northwest and in Southwest Bulgaria have suffered from power outages caused by the wet snow, regional authorities told BTA Friday. 

Since Thursday, branches have been falling onto the road through the Petrohan Pass. This is due to the fact that many trees still have green leaves, which retain the wet snow and eventually cause the branches to break under the snow's weight. Teams from the road maintenance service, the fire service, and local forestry departments have been continuously clearing the fallen branches, but the ongoing snowfall means new ones are constantly falling, Haitov explained. He added that with overnight temperatures dropping, there are now icy patches on the road, which is another reason for the full closure of the Pass. 

At present, the snow cover at the Petrohan Pass is approximately 25 to 30 centimetres, and snow is still falling.

Overnight snowfall has also brought down power lines, leaving several villages in the higher parts of the northwestern municipalities of Georgi Damyanovo and Chiprovtsi without electricity. Repair crews are currently working on site to resolve the outages. In these two municipalities, the rain turned to snow during the night, and fallen branches were reported on many roads, but have been cleared promptly. Power and water supplies remain stable in other settlements across the region, access to all villages is currently normal, and the roads are passable.

“The situation remains dynamic. We are monitoring it closely and doing everything possible to ensure safe roads and stable electricity supply,” the Regional Governor stated.  

Several villages in the southwestern Municipality of Kyustendil are without electricity due to damage to the power grid caused by heavy wet snow, Kyustendil Municipality told BTA.

Currently, the villages without power include Bogoslov, Gyueshevo, Radlovtsi, Lisets, Dragovishtitsa, Garlyano, Rusovo, Bobeshino, Lomnitsa, Mazarachevo, Dolno Uyno, Chudentsi, Kotugertsi, Poletintsi, and Goranovtsi. Electricity distribution company teams have been notified and power supply is expected to be restored by around midday, the Municipality said.

There are no closed roads or traffic restrictions in the Kyustendil region, the duty officer at the Regional Road Administration (RRA) in Kyustendil told BTA. Light snow is falling in the Strazhata area, on the road between Kyustendil and Radomir, while rain is falling in other parts of the region. The snow cover is approximately 5 centimetres, but the roads have been cleared. Five snowploughs operated in the area overnight, the RRA reported.