Wildfire burns forest and olive groves in Albania's Peqin district
A large wildfire swept through bushland, forest and olive groves in the village of Haspiraj, near Peqin, Albania, on Wednesday, fuelled by strong winds.
A large wildfire swept through bushland, forest and olive groves in the village of Haspiraj, in Albania's Peqin municipality, on Wednesday afternoon, local media reported. Strong winds fanned the flames, Euronews Albania and BalkanWeb reported.
Firefighters moved quickly to contain the blaze, and after about three hours of work brought it under control before fully extinguishing it, preventing further spread to nearby vegetation and orchards, journalist Fatmir Popja reported for BalkanWeb. No casualties or damage to property have been reported.
Fires have become a recurring problem in rural areas of Peqin in recent days, with several blazes reported in different parts of the municipality, BalkanWeb reported. Some are suspected to be linked to the burning of agricultural land, a practice that can quickly spread out of control in dry, windy conditions. Peqin's fire service renewed its appeal to farmers and residents to avoid lighting fires outdoors, particularly uncontrolled burning of agricultural waste.
What we know
- A large wildfire burned bushland, forest and olive groves in Haspiraj, in Albania's Peqin municipality, on Wednesday, BalkanWeb and Euronews Albania reported.
- Strong winds fanned the flames; firefighters brought the blaze under control after about three hours and fully extinguished it, BalkanWeb reported.
- No casualties or property damage have been reported.
- Fires have recurred in rural Peqin in recent days, with some suspected to be linked to agricultural burning, BalkanWeb reported.
Why it matters for Europe
Albania has faced repeated vegetation fires this autumn as dry, windy conditions make agricultural burning more likely to spread out of control, according to local reports. Fire services have renewed appeals to farmers to avoid open burning as the recurring blazes strain local firefighting resources.
Sources
Reported by 2 reports from 2 independent outlets in 1 countries.
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Questions and answers
- Where did the fire happen?
- In the village of Haspiraj, in Albania's Peqin municipality, BalkanWeb and Euronews Albania reported.
- Was anyone hurt?
- No casualties have been reported.
- What caused the fire?
- The cause has not been confirmed, though local reports say some recent fires in the area are suspected to be linked to agricultural burning.
This article was written with AI assistance from 2 verified reports and checked under the ECTV editorial policy. Spotted an error? Request a correction.