Suva Planina Fire: Fifth Day, 230 Firefighters on Scene
The wildfire on Suva Planina is burning for a fifth day, fought by about 230 firefighters. The Nis emergency chief says localization has not been declared due to wind and rough terrain.
Firefighters and volunteers are into their fifth straight day trying to bring the wildfire on Suva Planina under control. According to the Nis Administration for Emergency Situations, roughly 230 firefighters and other crews are deployed on the ground each day, and localization of the fire still has not been declared.
The fiercest fighting is underway in the municipality of Bela Palanka, around the Tri Lokve and Pasarelo sites. Crews are also working simultaneously above the village of Mali Krcimir, in the municipality of Gadzin Han, where officials say the fire changed direction because of strong, shifting wind. Until yesterday the situation was worst toward Bela Palanka, but the strengthening wind is now pushing the problem toward Gadzin Han as well.
Srdjan Mitrovic, chief of the Nis Administration for Emergency Situations, said localization cannot be declared at this point.
“We have not declared the fire localized. We cannot even think about that right now, because localization is declared only once the fire has stopped spreading,” Mitrovic said.
The inaccessible terrain is making firefighting even harder. The fire has spread across a wide area from five sides, and bringing in water is difficult, so firefighters are being helped by volunteers, bikers and hikers who carry water to the most remote points in backpacks. A Russian Ilyushin firefighting aircraft is taking part in the aerial effort, with three passes so far as of this report, alongside three helicopters from Serbia’s Ministry of Interior (MUP).
Mitrovic also explained why available resources are being deployed cautiously, noting that Suva Planina is not the only intervention his crews are handling.
“We have to rationally deploy all available capacities and forces so we can respond to every incident,” said the chief of the Nis Administration for Emergency Situations.
He added that changeable weather is reshaping the plan on the ground every day.
“The wind direction shifts, and then the problem moves in another direction,” Mitrovic told N1.
Despite the scale of the fire, no structures have been reported burned in the settlements on Suva Planina so far. Houses are not under threat and there are no injuries, according to officials. At night, however, the fire is visible from parts of Nis itself, a sign of how far it has spread along the entire mountain ridge.
Suva Planina is not the only hot spot in Serbia. More than 30 open-air fires are currently active across the country. Strong wind has reignited the fire near Susaracki Road in the Deliblatska Pescara, while firefighters are also battling flames in the municipality of Majdanpek, around the villages of Leskovo, Mali Krs, Veliki Krs and Rudna Glava. Populated areas in those regions are not under threat, based on available information.
As Srpske Novine previously reported, the day before this latest update saw 34 active fires nationwide, with Suva Planina already burning for a fourth day at that point. The number of crews deployed on the mountain has not dropped since, and officials continue to warn that as long as the wind stays unpredictable, the outcome of the firefighting effort cannot be reliably forecast.
