Authorities Raise the Alarm Over Fire Season and Call for Maximum Vigilance During the Summer

Institutions responsible for security, emergencies and forest protection have warned of an increased risk of fires in the summer months, urging citizens to avoid any actions that could cause flames and to exercise extra caution.

In a joint appearance before the media, representatives of the Kosovo Police, the Emergency Management Agency, the Kosovo Forestry Agency, the Kosovo Hydrometeorological Institute and the Department of Forestry stressed that every act of arson, whether intentional or caused by negligence, will be treated seriously and in accordance with the legislation in force.

The Director General of the Kosovo Police, Gazmend Hoxha, said citizens must act responsibly during the hot season, recalling that the Criminal Code provides penalties ranging from six months to 10 years in prison for the criminal offense of arson.

According to him, during 2025 and 2026, the Kosovo Police carried out 1,222 interventions in fire cases, opened 258 criminal cases and arrested 37 people.

Hoxha stressed that the conference was also organized as a public appeal for caution during the summer, but also to coordinate actions among institutions so that there are as few fires as possible and damage from reported cases is kept to a minimum. He added that people identified and arrested by the Kosovo Police in these cases are sent to the prosecution for further procedures, while for arson, under Article 322, the prescribed sentence is from six months to 10 years.

He also announced that, compared with 2024, reported cases of intentional arson increased from 264 to 469 cases in 2025, or about 70 percent more.

Acting Director of the Emergency Management Agency, Shefki Avdullahu, said the institution he leads has raised the level of readiness across all structures.

He underlined that 11,466 fire hotspots were recorded in Kosovo in the last season alone, which according to him requires broad involvement of institutions at both the central and local levels.

Avdullahu said emergency operations centers work without interruption, 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, while regional emergency management centers carry out continuous monitoring and coordinate with the local level. He stressed that all arson cases, regardless of whether they are intentional or the result of negligence, will be handled in full compliance with the law in force. According to him, those responsible will face punitive measures and legal procedures without any exception, describing this as a clear message of the state’s commitment to protecting public order and the environment. However, he stressed that no institutional mechanism can be fully effective without the cooperation of citizens.

Avdullahu repeated that those responsible will face the appropriate punishments and called on citizens not to light fires in open spaces, not to burn waste, and to report every case to the emergency number 112.

For his part, senior hydrologist at the Kosovo Hydrometeorological Institute, Bashkim Kastrati, said the institution monitors meteorological conditions in real time through 24 automatic stations, which supply data to the national forest fire management platform.

Kastrati said that during periods of high temperatures, the Kosovo Hydrometeorological Institute continuously increases vigilance through notices it publishes for the wider public, as well as to inform institutions.

The acting executive director of the Kosovo Forestry Agency, Menderes Ibra, said that in 2025, fires affected 2,230 hectares of forest, of which 1.37- hectares were state forests and 863 hectares were private forests.

He said the consequences of fires are not measured only by economic loss.

According to Ibra, there were 34 reported cases in the Prishtina region, 20 in the Mitrovica region, 3 in the Peja region, 44 in the Prizren region, 6 in the Ferizaj region and 32 in the Gjilan region. He stressed that forest damage is a major concern not only for the Forestry Agency, but for society as a whole, because in addition to burning forests and economic loss, it also brings destruction of flora and fauna, devastation of water resources, an impact on the release of carbon dioxide and changes in air quality.

Director of the Department of Forestry, Tahir Ahmeti, said high temperatures and low soil moisture significantly increase the risk of fires breaking out, which is why greater institutional coordination and cooperation with citizens are required.

Ahmeti said the country is entering a period of high temperatures and low soil moisture, creating great potential for fires. He stressed that, from a legislative standpoint, the forest law stipulates that setting fires or burning these wooded environments is sanctioned by law and all persons who commit such an act will face the full force of the law. According to him, preventive measures for protecting forests from fire are defined through ten-year management plans, and the institutions that manage forests are legally obliged to have and implement them as prescribed. He added that dependence on climatic conditions makes this process quite complex, as forests have always been among the ecosystems most threatened by degradation as a result of fire.

Ahmeti also recalled that the law prohibits lighting fires within a distance of 500 meters from forests, except in specially designated areas for that purpose, and stressed that violators will be punished according to the sanctions provided by law.