Two Swedish planes will replace the French aircraft in fighting the wildfire in the Maleshevska Mountain, reported BTA, citing the Directorate General Fire Safety and Civil Protection. The situation remains complex, with firefighters, servicemen, forest rangers and volunteers working on the site. At this stage, there is no risk to the settlements.

Today, only the French planes are carrying out the aerial dousing, as it is dangerous for helicopters and planes to fly simultaneously over the same fire front, explained Chief Commissioner Alexander Dzhartov, Director of the General Directorate Fire Safety and Civil Protection. He noted that tomorrow, helicopters from the Bulgarian Air Force will likely be used to control the fire in the Maleshevska Mountain. The Swedish planes are arriving tomorrow and are expected to join the firefighting efforts on Friday. The fire in the municipality of Strumyani is not yet under control, but compared to yesterday, there is less wind, allowing teams to operate on the site along with the two French planes, Chief Commissioner Dzhartov went on to say. In his words, more volunteers are expected tomorrow, given the extremely large perimeter of the fire. Many people are needed to continuously patrol the areas that have been already treated to prevent the fire from reigniting somewhere along the perimeter.

• No risk of fire spreading to settlements, Interior Minister says