Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

More than 200 forest fires in Bulgaria since beginning of 2016

Photo: BGNES

Since the beginning of the year, more than 200 forest fires have taken place on the territory of Bulgaria. Natural fires that erupted because of lightning were just 2 percent. Seven percent of fires were proven to be intentional. 80 percent were caused by negligence and 14 percent erupted because of unknown reasons. "Guilt of perpetrators is difficult to prove as they must be caught while committing the crime. In most cases authorities rely on confessions from perpetrators," Vladimir Konstantinov, an expert from the Forestry Agency, told the Bulgarian National Radio in an interview. Currently, there are video surveillance systems, enabling prevention and rapid response to fires, but they cover about 15-20% of the forest areas of the country, the expert added. Each year some 22,000 decares of Bulgarian forests burn.



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Ancient villa beneath Sofia set for a new chapter

Today, architecture students from the University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy in Sofia are presenting new proposals for integrating the remains of the Roman Villa Rustica into the city's modern urban environment. Their aim,..

published on 10/22/25 8:30 AM

Warm autumn weather in the forecast

On Wednesday minimum temperatures will range between 3° C. and 8° C., for Sofia around 4° C. Visibility will be diminished in the morning in the valleys and lowlands. During the day the weather will be predominantly sunny with a temporary increase..

published on 10/21/25 6:45 PM

Myara agency: Crimes and incidents continue to be a major source of tension

Social tensions from 1 July until 30 September this year are estimated at an index of 6.09, meaning “risks that are difficult to control”, on a scale of 1 to 210, indicates a survey by the sociological agency Myara, the Bulgarian news agency BTA..

published on 10/21/25 4:09 PM