Interior Minister: Borjomi Forest Fire Extinguished

The Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia, Giorgi Mghebrishvili, stated that the forest fire has been completely localized in Borjomi Gorge.

He added that manpower and equipment will still stay at the site to prevent the re-eruption of the fire pockets.

“There are still 1,000 employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, as well as 100 servicemen of the Ministry of Defense and about 50 employees of the Ministry of Energy,” he stated.

The minister noted that rescue squads and equipment, sent by the neighboring countries, will leave Georgia.

“In the zone there is one helicopter of MIA and one Belarussian. The rest left the territory of Georgia. The fire is completely liquidated. Soil processing is underway,” he added.

Mghebrishvili said that the investigation is going on intensively with regard to the fire.

“This case belongs to the category of complicated investigations, but the process is intensively underway and we will wait for the results of the investigation,” he said.

Fire in Borjomi Gorge started on August 20.

Head of forest care-restoration service of forest agency Natia Iordanishvili told Imedi TV that mainly the territory, burnt during Georgia-Russia August war 2008, caught the fire.

She said around 250 hectares have been totally burnt, however explained that mainly newly planted trees and bushes were destroyed during the fire.

“We will know the exact number of loss after the fire-extinguish works are totally finished and all the people and equipment are taken out of the territory.

Iordanishvili added that there have not been any reports about casualties of animals, adding the mammals, residing in the forest left the burnt area during the first fire in 2008.

By Thea Morrison