Muhamed Ali used a photo of a rescued calf in California for the incident in Kitka

Muhamed Ali, director of the Crisis Management Center, published a photograph that, according to him, showed the rescue of a small calf from the large fire that engulfed the area above the village of Paligrad, on Mount Kitka.

However, the image was not from Macedonia. It had been taken during a fire in California in 2020.

“Amid the chaos and flames, together with the firefighters of the City of Skopje, we managed to save a small calf that had been trapped in the fire-affected field. Small, frightened, but alive—a small victory on a difficult day,” Ali wrote.

The published photograph had no connection to the fire near Paligrad. It had been reported by American media in September 2020 and showed a calf named Charlene, which had been rescued from a burned area in California.

According to information about the original case, the August 2020 fire affected a farm near Milpitas, California. The newborn calf was found in a damp patch of grass in the middle of the pasture engulfed by flames. Its eyelashes had been burned, and it was later taken to safety.

Consequently, the photograph used by Ali as an illustration was not authentic evidence of an animal being rescued near Paligrad.

Following the reactions, Ali apologized for the misunderstanding. He explained that the image had been used only to illustrate the text, while insisting that the calf rescue had in fact taken place.