State of Emergency Near Priboj as Druglici Landfill Burns

The Druglici landfill near Priboj has been burning since June 30. Fire and rescue crews from three municipalities have been on the scene for a third day. Thick smoke and a strong stench are spreading over nearby villages. Residents, according to early reports, have been breathing heavy air for days.

Waste from Priboj, Prijepolje and Nova Varos is deposited at this landfill. The affected area is large, which makes the fire hard to keep under control. At one point the flames spread to a nearby stretch of forest. That part of the fire has been contained, but the effort to extinguish the landfill itself continues.

Because of its scale and the threat to settlements, a state of emergency was declared for part of the Kratovo local community. That allows the authorities to bring in additional crews and resources more quickly. According to the latest information, about 90 percent of the affected area has been brought under control.

How dangerous is it for the surrounding villages?

An open landfill fire carries a risk that does not end when the flames die down. Burning mixed waste releases particles and smoke that irritate the airways. That is why the stench residents reported is more than a nuisance. It is a sign that combustion byproducts are reaching the settlements.

In situations like this, officials typically advise residents to close their windows and, where possible, limit time outdoors until the smoke clears. That is especially true for children, the elderly and people with chronic conditions. A final assessment of the impact on air and soil will only be made once the fire is fully out.

Cleaning up landfills like this is slow. Waste keeps smoldering beneath the surface for days. Firefighters have to rake through the layers and put out hotspots that cannot be seen from above. That is why crews rotate for hours on the ground, and full extinguishing demands patience and heavy machinery.

Was the fire set deliberately?

The cause of the fire is under investigation. There is suspicion that it was set deliberately, but that has not been officially confirmed. At this stage any claim of arson remains a hypothesis until the authorities complete their inspection and establish how the fire started.

Landfills are, by their nature, places where fires break out easily even without human involvement. Spontaneous combustion of waste during summer heat is a common occurrence. That is why the real cause is established carefully, by comparing traces on the ground with residents’ accounts and data on when the smoke was first noticed.

For the residents of the three municipalities that use Druglici, the question of cause is not academic. If the fire was set deliberately, criminal liability follows. If it stems from a failure in landfill maintenance, it raises the question of who is responsible. Either way, this event revives an old debate about how municipal waste is managed in Serbia.

For now, the priority is to put the fire out completely and to measure how much the smoke affected the surrounding villages. If your own community had been breathing landfill smoke for days, who would you hold accountable first?