UPDATED: Tsagveri forest fire localised, authorities say

UPDATED: 22:21

A wildfire in the Tsagveri forest in south-central Georgia has been localised, Deputy Interior Minister Merab Malania says.

According to Malania the helicopters will monitor the site and the fire extinguishing works will continue tomorrow morning wherever necessary.

EARLIER: 11:53

There are no new fire pockets in the Tsagveri forest in south-central Georgia, but firefighters are continuing their efforts to fully extinguish the existing ones.

Minister of Regional Development and Infrastructure Zurab Alavidze said that currently four helicopters are involved in the fire extinguishing works. Of these, one is Georgian, another is Azerbaijani and the remaining two are Turkish.

Yesterday one more Georgian helicopter was also working at the scene but Alavidze said it was dismissed as there was no need for five helicopters any longer.

We do not have new fire pockets. The fire is under control. We have demarcated it in the gorge and we are protecting the perimeter. We hope that by midday today we will be able to localise the fire and start works for liquidation”, Alavidze said.

Photo source: MIA of Georgia.

Apart from aviation efforts, manpower is also involved; a total of 700 people are working in the forest to handle the disaster at three locations.

A wildfire broke out near the Tsagveri resort for days ago. Tsagveri is part of Borjomi Gorge, where a massive forest wire happened in August too.

An unusually high number of wildfires occurred in Georgian forests this summer. The largest one was in Borjomi Gorge that burnt for seven days before being put out in late August.

An investigation is underway to find out the causes of frequent forest fires in Georgia this year.