English
Firefighting teams have put out six dozen fires across Macedonia over the past several days, and are currently tackling five active fires and five localized fires.
On one location, near Dojran, a police helicopter was sent to make repeat trips and dumped 40 tons of water on a fire affecting low vegetation.
Two men were detained near Skopje after assaulting a news crew that came to record a major fire in a scrap dealer’s site. Those who carried out the attack is believed to be linked with the owner of the site. Three minors were also caught with gas and firecrackers, adding to worries that some of the fires were cases of arson.
Prime Minister Mickoski said that there is evidence that the fires near Skopje were part of a coordinated action. “Not only we suspect this, but we have evidence. Especially in the last recorded fire in Skopje, near Smilkovsko lake, the three persons that are obtained indicate that there are suspicions about a well coordinated and planned action in Skopje”, the Prime Minister said.
Mickoski added that nine out of the over 40 old military vehicles that were converted into firefighting vehicles were used over the past days, dumping 300 tons of water. “Despite the exceptionally difficult conditions, with temperatures between 35 and 40 degrees and winds that reach up to 100 kilometers per hour, we were able to put the fires under control”, the Prime Minister said.
