For more than 2 months, fires continue to burn in Albania with thousands of hectares of forests and pastures. Almost every day, the National Agency of Civil Protection reports dozens of fires from the north to the south of the country. On Monday alone, 47 fires were reported, of which it was possible to extinguish 36 of them, while 11 fires continue to remain active. This is also the day with the largest number of fires, spread over the forest areas of the country, as well as one of the days with the highest temperatures recorded during the months of June, July and August in Albania.
The situation is more problematic in the protected areas, where the fires continue to spread rapidly. Thus, the widespread fires in the territory of North Macedonia have also appeared in the interior of the territory of Albania, in the National Park of Prespa, in Mount Dry, where despite the intervention of local structures, the fire continues to be active due to the difficult terrain .
Also, in Tropoja, in the village of Çerem, the focus of the fire near the National Park of the Alps has spread and the steep terrain makes it difficult for the specialized forces to extinguish the fires in the forest areas. But during the month of July and the first days of August, the fires affected the national park of Lura in Dibër as well as the archeological park of Finiq, while also endangering a number of resorts on the coastline of Shengjin.
During Monday, fires were reported in the forests of Tropoja, Bulqiza, Mati, Shkodra, Kurbin, Dropulli, Finiq and Selenica.
According to the Operational Center of Civil Emergencies, in the municipality of Tropoja, two fires are active in the forest areas of the village of Rajë and Geghysen, as well as in the village of Çeren. In Tërnovë village of Bulqizë municipality, the fire continues to be active, despite numerous efforts by the forces on the ground to bring it under control. In the village of Selicë, in the municipality of Mati, the fire is active in two fires and, due to the strong winds, the isolation of the fire has not yet been achieved. While in the village of Skuraj, in the municipality of Kurbini, there is no open fire, but the smoke continues as a result of the burning of humus under the vegetation, risking the reactivation of the flames.
Numerous fires continue for days to burn forest surfaces and endanger residential areas in the south of the country. In the place called Mali i Pusi, in front of the village of Zhulat and above the village of Sotire, in the municipality of Dropulli, the situation is difficult because of the terrain, where the active fire has passed into the crown of pine trees. Even in the village of Kostar, in the municipality of Finiq, as well as in the village of Mërtiraj in the municipality of Selenicë, the fire continues to be active, but according to the civil defense authorities, it does not pose a danger to the houses.
In Albania, fires in forest areas are annual and the authorities claim that they are caused by high temperatures, but a significant part is also caused by the carelessness of local residents as well as intentional arson. Only from 2009 to 2021, according to INSTAT data, in Albania about 230 thousand hectares of forests and pastures were burned by fires, a considerable damage to the country's economy, but also to the natural environment.
In an effort to keep the fires under control, in addition to the firefighting forces and vehicles, the police and the army are also activated, an additional cost that is quite high for the Albanian government with a limited annual budget.
Only in the operation of the previous day, on August 11, 2024, 665 operational forces, 43 vehicles, 99 military troops and the Air Force helicopter were engaged in extinguishing the fires.
Although fires continue to damage the national wealth of forests for more than 30 years, Albania continues to have limited technical and human capacities for the protection of forests from fires and intentional damage. The country has about 1,300 forest workers and experts, about 140 firefighting vehicles, most of them old and unsuitable for fighting fires in forest areas, and no helicopters specialized for fighting fires from the air.
