Intense Fire Breaks Out Again in Kut, Residents Struggle to Extinguish it Under Azerbaijani Gunfire

For the fourth consecutive day, efforts to extinguish areas intentionally set ablaze by the enemy have been unsuccessful. Fires caused by Azerbaijani soldiers in the direction of the villages of Kut and Sotk, which began on August 29, have continued to spread towards the settlements.

The flames have devastated grazing lands, reaching hayfields. One resident of Kut, Atom, shared details with “Factinfo” regarding the fires that ignited on August 29. “The fire’s epicenter has been spread by the wind. The weather conditions are also not in our favor. Firefighters managed to extinguish it late into the night, and the fire was not visible. Today, the wind changed direction, and in a couple of places, there was light smoke, but it is now burning intensely. We have called 911 again. We don’t know if the fire has reignited; the pastures are burning, and now the hayfields are on fire,” he stated.

The fire is currently 3-4 kilometers away from the settlement. Residents believe it will not reach the inhabited areas, as the area is not covered with grass, providing some confidence that the fire will not advance further. According to the resident, approximately 150 hectares have been burned in three days, and now the fire has intensified and spread further.

“Some of the villagers are up there trying to do something with their own means, but we have called the Ministry of Emergency Situations to see who will come. Our villagers have helped for the past two days. Ten people from the village have always been up there; they can only go up in the evening,” he added.

The residents do not perceive the provocations coming from the Azerbaijani side. “It seems they are trying to put it out, but the weather is not in our favor, it’s dry. You put out the fire, and you go quite a distance away, and suddenly, you see that the area you just extinguished is starting to turn red again and smoke is coming out. Perhaps they lit it once, but we can’t manage it, and that continues because the areas are so inconvenient. Our firefighters have not been able to go up; we are mostly putting out the fire by hand. That’s the problem,” he noted.

Burning hayfields pose a threat to all residents of Kut. They do not have any hay stockpiled for the winter and cannot afford to buy hay, leading to the potential sale of some of their livestock in the future. “Agriculture is suffering and declining. If the livestock don’t have fodder, residents will sell half of them so that they can manage the other half. It is no longer possible to buy hay from the village; there is none available in the area. One bundle costs over 2,000 drams, but there’s nothing to buy; it’s insufficient for the number of livestock. Residents have not hayed for a long time; the grass has burned, and the opportunity is limited,” he elaborated.

Although there are burning areas that are difficult to access, residents still venture out in the evenings to extinguish the flames. It is during those times that they also hear the sounds of enemy gunfire. “When we were up there, we heard gunfire, but we couldn’t determine if they were shooting in our direction or not. Since it was chaotic, we were focused on extinguishing the fire and did not know where they were shooting from,” he recalled.

The fire was also moving towards Armenian positions from the very first day, but thanks to the residents' efforts, the fire has not reached that direction.