“An operation center has been set up at the department, and coordination of the forces has been stepped up as a number of fires have broken out,” Vida Smigelskienė of the Lithuanian Fire and Rescue Department told BNS Lithuania.
In her words, firefighters are now fighting four large-scale fires. One of them broke out around 1 p.m. in a forest in the southern district of Varėna.
Another fire broke out in Jurbarkas District, southwestern Lithuania. The call was received at 13.27 p.m. about a burning forest area of around 1 ha.
Firefighters also fought a large forest fire, covering 4–5 ha, in Trakai District, southeastern Lithuania, in the morning.
And around noon, a fire was reported in Joniškis District, bordering Latvia, where several separate outbreaks of fire in an area of 200 ha were spotted. Latvian firefighters are assisting in putting out this fire from their side.
“Strong winds are undermining firefighting efforts,” Smigilskienė said.
Dry and hot weather has prevailed in Lithuania in recent days, raising the risk of fires.