More than 95% of the wildfires in the country are caused by negligence or intent, said Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov after inspecting the measures taken by the Ministry of Interior's operational headquarters to tackle the fires in the Strumyani region. Thanks to good organization and cooperation through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, as well as the participation of aerial firefighting teams from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, France and Sweden, we will be able to bring these fires under control very soon, Premier Zhelyazkov said. He added that unfortunately, more wildfires are expected in August.

''Acquiring firefighting aircraft is a complex process and, in the best-case scenario, takes three years'', said Premier Zhelyzakov. According to him, the country cannot proceed with such an acquisition without a new analysis from the Air Force. 167 fires were extinguished across the country in the past 24 hours, announced the Ministry of Interior.

• Bulgaria is burning! Help has come but the reckoning is painful

Published and translated by Kostadin Atanasov

Photo: BTA