The country is on fire, the fire is reaching the 'door of the house', Rama continues his vacation and ... propaganda

For several days, Albania has been facing large-scale fires in several areas of the country, with fires that have put firefighters, the Armed Forces and emergency structures in difficulty. The situation worsened last evening in the outskirts of Tirana, where the flames spread rapidly in the areas of Daiasi, Priska and Farka, approaching Surrel, the area where Prime Minister Edi Rama's residence is located.

Strong winds favored the spread of the fire, while difficult terrain made ground intervention more complicated.

 The flames reached considerable proportions and were even seen from the center of Tirana, while at some points the fire approached residential areas.

Firefighters, Armed Forces personnel, emergency structures and aerial vehicles were deployed on the scene to deal with the situation.

But the fire in the outskirts of the capital was just one of the outbreaks that have engulfed the country in recent days. The situation has also been reported to be problematic in other regions, testing the capacities of Albanian structures to cope with emergencies.

Tirana is burning, Rama is on vacation 

At a time when fires have engulfed several areas of the country and one of the fires has approached the Surrel area, Prime Minister Edi Rama has been on vacation in Dhërmi for several days.

During this period, I was relaxing on a boat in the Ionian waters.

Also, a photo of Rama having dinner with Alex Soros, the son of American billionaire George Soros, was published in the media.

Recall that Alex Soros is a well-known figure in American politics and philanthropy and has been involved in political debates in the US for years. The Soros family has been the subject of constant attacks by Donald Trump and his political circle, especially for political activity and foundations associated with George Soros.

The flames are reaching the 'door' of the house, what did Rama do?

While the flames approached Surrel during the night and burned a significant area in the outskirts of Tirana, Prime Minister Edi Rama's morning on social media came without a message about the fire situation.

In his posts published today, Rama has chosen another topic, the usual propaganda.

"Good morning and with the energy from the Dobërdoli Mountains, I wish you a good day," the prime minister writes in one of his publications.

In another post, Rama shares materials on the measures taken for the smooth running of the tourist season, referring to the Minister of Internal Affairs, Besfort Lamallari, and the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sports, Blendi Gonxhja.

"As flows at ports and other border points increase, the safety of citizens and tourists is a priority," the published communication states.

Capacities again in question

The fight against the fires has also brought back the debate about the country's emergency response capacities.

The fires of recent days have required the engagement of hundreds of field forces, firefighting vehicles, the Armed Forces, and aerial vehicles.

In some areas, rugged terrain and lack of vehicle access have made intervention from the ground impossible, necessitating the use of helicopters and special aircraft.

The opposition has been raising this very concern for days, accusing the government of a lack of investment in specialized tools and equipment for dealing with fires.

The Deputy Leader of the Democratic Party, Belind Këlliçi, has criticized the government for its lack of capacity and has called for investments in helicopters and special aircraft for extinguishing fires.

But the size of some of the fires once again shows the difficulty of Albanian structures in coping with a situation where several areas are simultaneously engulfed by flames./ Politiko.al