Ljubljana - President Borut Pahor has bestowed an Apple of Inspiration on the thousands of firefighters and other individuals involved in the successful fight against the July wildfire in the Kras region, the worst in the country's history.

Handing out the informal award, which he has been conferring since 2013, in a packed hall in at Brdo pri Kranju convention centre, Pahor said that even Ljubljana's Stožice sports arena would have not sufficed to accommodate all who had participated in the efforts.

Speaking of heroes who fight fires and protect people and their property, the president said the whole country, "irrespective of the many differences among us, were rooting for you to put out he fire"

The ceremony was addressed by several of the firefighters, who praised the cooperation and unity in the fight.

Several wildfires raged in Slovenia this year, the biggest among them in Kras, where over 20,000 people fought the flames for 15 days.