Baltic States – CIS, Belarus, Latvia, Security

The minister said that the reinforcement from Belarus would be involved under a cooperation agreement concluded between the two neighbor countries for the provision of mutual emergency assistance.

“We have contacted the Belarusian side. They have a helicopter at their disposal which will join the firefighting operation tomorrow morning,” Kozlovskis said.

The interior minister said that helicopters provided by Lithuanian started work at the site this morning providing significant support in areas firefighters have had trouble accessing.

Information is still being awaited from other European Union member states that might help Latvia extinguish the blaze in Valdgale.

In Kozlovskis’ words, up to 100 rescuers and over 20 home guards are currently involved in tackling the fire.

It is estimated that by now the fire has spread to a more than 1,000 hectares large area, but the minister indicated that it also includes some territories unaffected by flames.

“The rescuers together with employees of the forest service can keep [the fire inside] the perimeter,” Kozlovskis said. He could not say, however, when the fire could be put out completely.

The government at its meeting today decided to allocate up to EUR 150,000 from contingency funds to the State Fire and Rescue Service for paying the costs related to assistance from Belarus.

As reported, Latvian rescue services and air force helicopters are battling a large fire in Valdgale for the seventh day already. The fire broke out at a peatbog last Tuesday and later spread to nearby woods.

The government at an extraordinary meeting on Monday decided to ask international assistance to extinguish the fire. Latvia has posted a request for three helicopters on the Shared Environmental Information System (SEIS).

Latvia has asked also Belarus to help tackle the forest and peat fire in Valdgale County because the European Union’s (EU) resources are currently quite stretched as wildfires are raging in many countries this summer, Kristaps Eklons, deputy head of the State Fire and Rescue Service, said in an interview with Latvian Television this morning.