Army joins fire extinguishing efforts in Borjomi Gorge
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The Georgian Armed Forces have joined firefighting efforts in Georgia’s Borjomi Gorge where a massive forest fire broke out five days ago and is still burning.
The use of the army was authorised by a decree issued by President Giorgi Margvelashvili upon the request of Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili. The move was approved by Parliament.
Currently more than 1,000 soldiers from the Eastern Command of the Georgian Armed Forces are involved in the efforts. They are battling the blaze together with about 1,500 firefighters, rescuers and rangers.
More than 1,000 soldiers have joined firefighting efforts. Photo: MOD of Georgia.
"It is the fourth day that overall, despite complications from time to time, we have a positive dynamic”, Prime Minister Kvirikashvili said this morning.
"Thanks to the works carried out up until now we have reached the moment when, through the roads paved by us, we can approach the burning areas. This means that this is the moment when there is a need for a more organized human force. Yesterday, I made the decision to engage the army”, he added.
Kvirikashvili said that the fire had been stopped from spreading and now the next phase was fire extinguishing activities. He believed that joint efforts from firefighters, soldiers and areal resources this phase would be a success.
Georgian citizens, business and banking sector representatives are teaming up to restore the forest burnt following the recent devastating wildfire in the Borjomi Gorge, with several social campaigns already in full swing.
As of now, all the main fire spots have been localised, but there are areas where the threat of fire spreading has not been removed, Georgia’s Environment Ministry said this morning.
A 20-litre canister full of petrol has been recently found at the Borjomi forest and investigation is already underway in this direction.
Six helicopters and one large firefighting aircraft have resumed extinguishing work at 6 a.m. this morning in Georgia’s Borjomi Gorge where a wildfire broke out four days ago.
The European Union (EU) has activated its Copernicus program to monitor the fire in Borjomi Gorge and it will let Georgia access the satellite footage.
A massive forest fire that broke out a week ago in Georgia’s Borjomi Gorge has been extinguished, but the special headquarters that was set up upon the Prime Minister’s order to handle the disaster remains in the gorge to follow the developments.
A Georgian border police helicopter made an emergency landing while filling the reservoir in Borjomi Gorge this morning.
Interior Ministry said the pilot did his best to land on the water in such a way as to avoid casualties.
The forest fire in Georgia’s Borjomi Gorge has been extinguished and firefighting crews from neighbouring countries are leaving the gorge.
A fire erupted over about 0.5 hectares of forest lands on a mountain near the village of Sviri in the Akhaltsikhe municipality in southern Georgia yesterday evening. An Interior Ministry helicopter has been working to localise the fire since this morning.
Georgia’s Ministry of Defence has awarded its soldiers and civil servants for fighting large-scale fires in Borjomi and Ateni Gorge in late August.
A new section of the forest near Tsagveri resort in south-central Georgia is still burning and more foreign countries are offering their assistance to Georgia.
A wildfire in in the Tsagveri forest in south-central Georgia has been localised; however, he helicopters will monitor the site and the fire extinguishing works will continue tomorrow morning wherever necessary.
A wildfire in the Tsagveri forest in south-central Georgia has been extinguished, but the firefighters are staying to monitor the site. Tsagveri is part of Borjomi Gorge, where a massive forest fire has happened earlier in August, too.
Up to 150 firefighters, 30 foresters and a border police helicopter have been brought in to extinguish a fire in the Borjomi Gorge in central Georgia.