Ending a crossing between northern Macedonia and Greece due to fires

A key border crossing between northern Macedonia and Greece -- which is exploited by tourists -- was closed on Wednesday, July 17th, due to nearby fires, officials said.

The Northern Macedonia Interior Ministry has confirmed closing the crossing between the Macedonian village of Bogorodica and the Greek village of Evzoni.

This crossing is widely used by tourists who drive to Greece. According to public data in northern Macedonia, up to 20,000 people use this crossing a day during the summer season.

“Call on citizens not to travel towards the border until the announcement that fire has been extinguished and traffic normalised”, the ministry said through an announcement.

Greece's Fire Department said 39 firefighters, 13 firefighters and a helicopter were mobilised to extinguish the fires.

Local media have reported that the area has been filled with smoke, while dozens of cars appear to have been blocked on the Macedonian side of the border.

Northern Macedonia faced a series of fires last week as the country is facing temperatures reaching over 40 degrees Celsius.

During an extraordinary meeting of the Government held over the weekend, officials in northern Macedonia declared crisis situations ʹ but, not emergency situations due to “the arrival of fire explosions”.

The situation of the crisis is announced when the public and property face risks that may require the Government to use large resources to eliminate these risks.

The Macedonian government has approved the deployment of police and military for fighting fires.

Experts have said that climate change, driven by man, is increasingly causing fires and other natural disasters, including heat waves. /rel