19:00, 10 September 2010

Large forest is on fire in Pankissi Gorge, Georgia

In Pankissi Gorge the fire has captured 40 hectares of forest in the vicinity of Matana village, the Ahmet District.

150 rescuers and local residents are active in combating the fire; however, they cannot extinguish it because of the complex landscape of the area. It is not excluded that helicopters will be involved in the battle.

According to Besik Nasipashvili, head of the Fire-Fighting Service of the Ahmet District, within a week the fire has already destroyed 20 forest hectares. According to his story, small fire centres still remain; and employees of the Fire-Fighting Service and Forestry Agency were mobilized to suppress them, the "Georgia Online" reports.

Firemen hope to localize the fire till the end of the day.

Let us note here that yesterday, on September 9, strong wind resumed the fire in the Kvareli District; however, firemen managed to cope with it. In total, as reported by the Ministry of Environment Preservation and Natural Resources, in total, 50 forest hectares suffered from fire in this district, the "News-Georgia" Agency reports.