Firefighters Still Battling Forest Fire near Likavka

Likavka, 14 August (TASR) - Firefighters continued to battle a forest fire near the village of Likavka (Zilina region) on Thursday, TASR has been told by Maria Pohankova Zahatlanova, a spokesperson for the Regional Directorate of the Fire and Rescue Corps (HaZZ) in Zilina. The fire broke out on Tuesday (12 August) afternoon in difficult-to-access terrain and has affected an area under the fifth degree of nature protection. A total of 17 HaZZ members from Ruzomberok Fire Station and central and eastern ground firefighting units are on the scene. Volunteer firefighters from the village of Likavka and a helicopter belonging to the Slovak armed forces are also involved, said the spokesperson, adding that a refilling point for the helicopter has been set up in the village of Valaska Dubova. "The cause of the fire is currently under investigation, and the damage has not yet been estimated," she said, noting that the area is being continuously monitored by a drone. The Slovak armed forces have reported on social media that their deployed UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter with a Bambi bucket carried out 28 drops during ten flights on Wednesday (13 August), dropping a total of 70,000 litres of water. jrg/df/ko