Angelov: 29 fires reported within 24 hours, six remain active

Twenty-nine fires were recorded in open areas over the past 24 hours, Stojanche Angelov, director of the Directorate for Protection and Rescue, said. According to him, 23 have been extinguished, while six remain active.

The most concerning incident was recorded in the village of Çanishte, near Prilep, where the flames spread among the houses but did not reach residents’ homes. In a video message, Angelov said firefighters had worked throughout the night and expressed confidence that the fire would be brought fully under control during the day today.

“Great gratitude to the Prilep firefighters, who fought the fire with dedication and managed to save most of the village. Thanks also to the volunteer firefighters from Bitola, who were deployed through the Directorate’s rapid response team and worked throughout the night, and are continuing to work even now. They extinguished a large area engulfed by the fire, and I think we will bring this fire fully under control today, although I myself had doubted that we would succeed in this effort,” Angelov said.

Another serious situation was reported in the territory of the Municipality of Jegunovce. The fire spread into the area of the village of Tudence and endangered the monastery located nearby.

“Because of the great danger to the monastery, as well as the lack of local firefighters from Tetovo, who at that moment were not anywhere near the monastery, I sent several Directorate teams, made up of volunteers from Gostivar, from the Çair volunteer association in Skopje, as well as a volunteer association from Tetovo, which is not engaged through the Directorate but, with my approval, joined the effort to extinguish the fire and protect the monastery,” Angelov added.

Angelov also reported that the fire from Veles remains active and is moving toward Zelenikovo. In Makedonski Brod, meanwhile, the intensity of the fire has decreased significantly. Three “air tractors” and a police helicopter have also been deployed in the operation to extinguish it.

There are also active flames in Studeniçan, in the area of the village of Ramni Gabër, but the fire is far from the village.