Budapest, Aug. 6, (dpa/GNA) – Emergency crews throughout the Balkans continued to battle wildfires on Friday, but forecasts of rain and an incoming cold front promised some relief for the region.
In Northern Macedonia, eight fires burning prompted the government to declare a state of crisis on Thursday.
The first of a series of Austrian aid convoys reached the region on Friday. In total, Vienna is sending 136 helpers, 16 fire-fighting vehicles, 24 trucks and an ambulance to northern Macedonia, according to vesti.mk portal.
Serbia, Bulgaria and Slovenia also sent assistance.
Large fires also burned across the border in Albania, where flames broke out in the north near Kukes on Friday, Defence Minister Niko Peleshi said.
Albanian fire crews have managed to bring all of the other forest fires under control.
Farmhouses and vegetation were destroyed in fires burning during the past week in the south and along the coastal region of Vlora.
Farms also caught fire in Kosovo, where there were nearly 500 forest fires during the past week. The NATO KFOR forces stationed in Kosovo helped to extinguish the flames, but the authorities are worried that more fires could break out.
GNA