The fire near the villages of Bryagovo, Lyubenovo and Rhodopi near Haskovo has spread over 800 hectares of land. 93 fire fighters, forest rangers, military personnel and volunteers have joined the efforts to put out the conflagration. Heavy machinery is standing by ready to make clearings.

The fire is under control but as temperatures and the wind rise in the afternoon the fire may be rekindled.

The regional prosecutor's office in Haskovo has instituted a pre-trial investigation into the fire as an act of negligence. 

“The most likely cause of the fire is negligence,” said Georgi Maslarov, director of the municipal forestry board.

Районната прокуратура в Хасково е образувала досъдебно производство за това, че по непредпазливост е запален чужд имот. 

Efforts to put out the fire next to Shishmantsi village continue

“Seven fire fighter teams are continuing the efforts to put out the fire at the landfill site next to Shishmantsi village near Plovdiv. The wind is blowing the smoke in different directions. Air quality is being monitored in the villages the smoke is spreading to. No critical pollution levels have been registered. The fire has been localized,” said the director of the Chief Directorate Fire Safety and Civil Protection, chief commissioner Nikolay Nikolov.

The causes of the fire are yet to be investigated, at this stage the theory is that it broke out spontaneously, though arson is not being ruled out.

Thirteen fires of dry grass stubble fields and broke out in Pazardzhik district in just one week. The main causes are faulty harvesting equipment and negligence. The police are warning the population not to clear fields or yards by fire, not to light fires out in the open when there is wind and not to discard cigarette ends.