Update 29: Lurë Fire Emergency Support
The forests in Lurë-Dejës Mt. National Park have been burning for over two weeks. The first fires in the area were detected on July 9 and 10. Despite continuous efforts by local residents, forest workers, and the military on the ground every day to contain the fire’s spread, the situation remains critical.
EFFIS Copernicus data
We have been using European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) and Global Wildfire Information System (GWIS) to track the fire in Lurë-Dejës Mt. National Park and visualize data of the current situation on daily basis using QGIS.
The fire started around Liqeni i Luleve and has been spreading since despite the tremendous effort of the locals and institutions to bring it under control early. The first days of the fight brought it almost under control, as we can see from the video on 16th July. Later, unfortunately, the fire spread due to difficult terrain, winds, high temperatures into areas without any access.
As shown in the video (note the dates and spread), the fire is advancing into remote, rough terrain, making it incredibly difficult to access. The lack of infrastructure, off-road vehicles, and basic supplies is making it even more challenging to contain the flames.
Help needed in Lurë
The local team urgently needs help with basic supplies! On Saturday morning, July 26, we will bring our L200 pick-up truck and extra diesel to Lurë to support the team on the ground. The vehicle will remain available and be used our local coordinator, Imer Mena (national park ranger) who has been fighting organizing local efforts since beginning. Pickup can transport people, material and the forest workers to help with daily firefighting tasks.
We will be leaving from Tirana on 26th July 2025 at 9:00. Meeting point at the parking lot close to Rruga Artan Lenja & Rruga Ndre Mjeda, see exact location on Google maps!
Supplies donation
If you can help with supplies, please get in touch with us via email or phone to arrange a time and place to meet before we leave on Saturday.
Since our budget is limited, we’re asking for your help with:
- Fuel - for transporting people and tools
- Tools - shovels, pickaxes, gloves, masks, etc.
- Water pumps - Small petrol/diesel pumps (portable), creating water chain
- Hose - 2” hose for connections
Financial donations
We have updated our Donation form to allow for donation designation so that you can donate towards the fire relief efforts. You can donate via our donation page and make sure to select LURË: Fire emergency support.
Every little action counts, let’s stand together for Lurë!
Next steps
Apart from delivering the supplies and the L200 to Lurë we want need to:
- Meet with people fighting the fire and discuss how public can help
- Visit the areas, collect/provide drone footage and photos of the fires and the damage
- Discuss of setting up of the forward base to minimize the travel time and keep equipment close (we can provide large tent for the crew)
- Plan for the 2nd supply run
On behalf of the whole team,
Pavel
