The fire near the Bulgarian village of Babyak, Belitsa Municipality, in the southwestern region of Blagoevgrad that erupted Tuesday has expanded and is now engulfing over 1 000 decares of pine forest.

"The situation is critical and there is real danger for people and for the flames to flare up even more," the Mayor of Belitsa Municipality, Ibrahim Palev, says.

Over 400 people, firemen, forest rangers, military servicemen, volunteers, and two helicopters are taking part in the extinguishing effort. Several villages are without electric power while locals are collecting what they can and leaving their homes despite assurances from the authorities that the blaze would not reach the residential areas.

Emergency Headquarters have been established in Blagoevgrad to coordinate the effort. The teams are provided with food, water, and an ambulance on standby.

Over 310 fires have been registered in Bulgaria in the last 24 hours, 47 of them have inflicted material damage, the Interior Ministry reports Wednesday.

The blazes are attributed to the persisting heat wave and draught, and to human recklessness.