New Fires in South Serbia

9. August 2012.

Drakce Stanojkovic, Head of the Department for Emergency Situations, said that the previous morning fire had once again engulfed "the surroundings of the Serbian villages of Svinjiste and Ljanik, which are situated five to seven kilometers east of Presevo, near the border with Macedonia, as well as the approach to the Albanian village of Oraovica, which is situated a kilometer north of Presevo”.

There are around twenty houses in the villages of Svinjiste and Ljanik, which are inhabited by around one hundred people, while there are about 700 households in the village of Oraovica, where over 3,700 residents live, and all of them are safe, said the responsible person from the Department for Emergency Situations.

"The population on all locations, including their property, is completely safe. Yesterday, however, we failed to protect an electrical pole and foliage in the Bratoselce village cemetery, but, with the assistance of villagers, we managed to save the chapel, "said Mr. Stanojković.

He said that yesterday and today, around ten fire crews from Vranje, Bujanovac, Presevo, Vladicin Han and Surdulica were engaged in fire- fighting in the villages of Biljaca, Bratoselce, Turija and Karadnik, which are situated in the municipality of Bujanovac, as well as in the villages of Reljan, Svinjiste, Ljanik, Bustranje and Oraovica, which are situated in the municipality of Presevo.

20 larger or smaller fires were localized in these villages over the weekend and during the past three days. Mostly pine and acacia forests, as well as low vegetation, got burnt down.