U.S. Donation Helps Macedonia Battle Wildfires
The U.S. Government, through USAID’s Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), provided fire-fighting equipment valued at $50,000 to aid the Government of Macedonia (GOM) in responding to extensive wildfires burning throughout the country since early July.
On July 25, U.S. Ambassador Gillian A. Milovanovic formally made a declaration of disaster and requested emergency funding for the local procurement of urgently needed fire-fighting equipment. In coordination with the GOM’s Crisis Management Center, USAID donated equipment directly to the local fire brigades in the municipalities of Bitola, Strumica, Tetovo, and Veles, as well as to the Public Enterprise Macedonian Forests.
On July 18, the GOM declared a state of emergency due to the unusually high temperatures and wildfires. Since then, brigades have been battling fires in 32 municipalities. According to reports from the Crisis Management Center, the fires directly impact approximately half of Macedonia’s population of 2 million people. Several of the fires are located in the vicinity of major urban areas, threatening lives and vital infrastructure.
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| Fire-fighting equipment will help local brigades contain fires which threaten dozens of municipalities, as well as major urban areas |
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