Is there a risk of the wildfire in Greece spreading into Bulgaria?

For the fourth day a wildfire has been burning on the territory of Greece near the Bulgarian border. Firefighters and forestry officials were monitoring the situation today, July 22, to make sure the fire did not spread to the territory of our country. Caretaker Minister of Interior, Kalin Stoyanov, inspected the area by helicopter.

After three days of battling the fire with helicopters and planes, the fire on the Greek side has not been contained.

The fire reached only 600 metres from Bulgarian territory. However, there is no danger for our country at the moment.

"The situation is relatively calm, the actions continue with the preparation of fire lines to prevent the fire from entering our territory. For the time being, the fire is still far away, I hope the Greek colleagues will deal with the fire," said Eng. Valentin Chambov - director of Southwestern State Enterprise.

Caretaker Minister of Interior. Kalin Stoyanov, inspected the area by helicopter in the afternoon.

"What we have seen is that the fire is about a kilometer away in the nearest part of our border, with the fire front no more than 15 km away. The bad thing is that it's very rugged terrain there. Colleagues on the Greek side are working with helicopters and, as far as we have understood, an aircraft as well, access on land is difficult" said Kalin Stoyanov, Minister of Interior.

The reason is the inaccessible terrain and the minefields left from decades ago. Bulgarian authorities are prepared. Two military helicopters, two Czech helicopters and two planes from Spain remain available.

"A large part of the resources will be regrouped and redeployed to the border area. My colleagues assure me is that if the fire possible spreads into Bulgarian territory, it will happen no earlier than tomorrow," Interior Minister Kalin Stoyanov said.

During the night, firefighters and forestry officials remain in the area to monitor the situation.