Mount Pangaio and the difficulty in extinguishing creeping fires

Firefighters are continuing to battle a creeping fire that has been burning for four days on Mount Pangaio in the northern region of Macedonia.

A creeping fire is when a fire burns and spreads slowly, consuming the understory - bushes and vegetation - but not the crowns of trees.

While the fire service said the situation has improved considerably, the fire, which is believed to have already burned an area of 40-50 hectares, has not been fully extinguished.

"We have never experienced this before. We could never have imagined that we'd be dealing with such a fire two days before November," said the Kavala deputy governor, Theodoros Markopoulos, who added that the fire is burning in an extremely difficult area with cliffs, which is frustrating the firefighting effort.

"Aerial means cannot help in this area. Only helicopters can have some effect," he noted.<...