More than a dozen wildfires fanned by strong wind are raging across Macedonia, wreaking havoc in some areas, news reaching Tirana from Skopje reported on Monday.
The Crisis Management Centre of Macedonia announced that wildfires at about 15 locations in Macedonia were spreading, prompting local authorities to request more fire fighters and helicopters to help with the efforts.
The fires, fuelled by dry condition and high wind, are still raging in the western municipality of Makedonski Brod; on the Belasica mountain in the country's southeast.
Fires have also been reported in several villages in the areas of Kicevo, Bitola, Krusevo, Skopje, and Strumica, while the fires near Tetovo and Radovis have been contained.
During the summer of 2007, the hellish heat wave which reached as high as 44 degrees Celsius hit Macedonia, causing widespread wild fires in the western Balkan country.
There were a total of 217 fires reported across the nation, roughly 2,500 hectares, and 70 per cent of them were forests, with a damage of more than 60 million euros.