A small fire was allegedly turned into a massive fire, as the Prevala faced 10 days of fires in the mountains

A small fire that the residents and visitors of Prevala saw on August 5th allegedly became a massive fire that damaged large mountain areas in this Kosovo resort village.

Sabri Bulnjak, who spends most of the year at his villa in this village, says that residents saw the fire until it was quickly distributed, not far from their homes.

Without adequate means and safeguard clauses, Sabriu says the owners of houses and businesses in Prizren's Prevale were mobilised to put out the fire.

“We tried to stop the fire with the [cazemic] and kaci... we didn't have any other tools”, Sabriu tells Radio Free Europe.

But the flames took off the following days.

Good “They too have had it very difficult”, Sabriu says.

The area that was burned for more than ten days is located in a mountainous area that is only accessible on foot.

This, according to the authorities, made the work of firefighters difficult.

But when the flames approached the houses in Prevalla, a group of bikers also helped to extinguish the fire.

One of them is Almendin Smail.

With his mountain engine, Almedin, he helped fire fighters locate the fire.

Despite the danger, with his engine, he sent water and food to firemen.

The simplest and most efficient way to help [the firemen] was to come on a motorcycle and carry as much water and food as I can, he relates.

In some cases, Almendin says that he was in danger of flames on his way to the firehouse.

The biggest risk was when I went by the motor near the trees that were burning and the moment the flames fell to the ground”, Almeni relates.

The prevala is located at an altitude of some 1,000 feet [1,700 m] above sea level. Throughout the seasons of the year, it is visited by many visitors, both inside and outside Kosovo. Some come for mountain walks and others for health reasons for its fresh air.

Many mountain trails in the Sharr Mountains start from Prevala.

The location of the fire was only possible with air intervention. On Wednesday, KFOR helicopters worked for several hours until they managed to stop most of the fires. Besides environmental damage, there was no human and property damage reported.

In recent days, Kosovo has faced high temperatures over 35 degrees Fahrenheit [35 ° C], as have other regions of the Western Balkans.

In addition to preavla, there have been fires in other parts of Kosovo, but are extinguished following the intervention of firefighters.

Compared to northern Macedonia, which has faced fierce fires in Kosovo, the situation has been manageable. /Radio Free Europe/