The fire in Gojan i Madh, in the Gjegjan Administrative Unit of the Municipality of Pukë, has forced the start of evacuations for the most exposed residents. According to the Ministry of Defense, the operation is taking place in difficult mountainous terrain, with intervention from the ground and from the air.
Evacuation for the residents most at risk
The official version speaks of the removal of residents considered most exposed to the flames, with priority for children, the elderly and people with health problems.
The ministry claims that the greatest danger to the inhabited area has passed, but the operation is continuing as the situation is still not reported to be fully under control.
Large forces on the ground and three helicopters
In the operation, 5 fire engines have been deployed with 19 members of the fire service from Pukë and Fushë-Arrëz, 10 employees of the Forest Service, 40 municipal personnel and 30 volunteers.
According to the institutions, support also includes 40 members of the Armed Forces, one fire engine and 3 army helicopters, while the aerial intervention is continuing.
Coordination among several institutions
The evacuation operation and the effort to isolate the fire hotspot are being carried out in coordination with the National Civil Protection Agency, the Prefecture of Shkodër County, the Municipality of Pukë, the State Police and fire services.
In the official announcement, the NCPA is presented as the structure maintaining coordination and monitoring of the situation, together with the other links in the civil protection system.
What is known so far
At this stage, public information is based on the institutional announcement on the scale of the intervention and the start of the evacuation.
No other data have been made public on possible damage to homes or affected surface area, while the focus remains on containing the flames in the mountainous area of Gojan i Madh.
The situation in Pukë remains sensitive, despite the official statement that the main danger to homes has eased.
For the moment, attention is focused on the safety of the evacuated residents and on the actual effectiveness of the operation to fully extinguish the fire.