Wildfires hit Croatia and Montenegro’s Adriatic coast

Wildfires hit Croatia and Montenegro’s Adriatic coast
Clouds of smoke billow from forest fires in Montenegro's Lustica peninsular. / Montenegro interior ministry.
By Akin Nazli in Belgrade July 18, 2017

Firefighters are struggling to bring a massive forest fire that has reached the suburbs of Croatia’s second city Split under control. Meanwhile, the Montenegrin government has appealed for international help as a fire in the Lustica peninsular rages out of control. 

Large areas of both Croatia and Montenegro have been hit by forest fires, destroying infrastructure and forcing residents and tourists to evacuate at the height of the tourist season. 

The wildfires reached the north and eastern suburbs of Split on the evening of July 17, after blazing through villages near the city of 265,000 people. Many smaller towns and villages are also under threat from fires fuelled by strong winds and dry weather. 

The ventilation systems of two shopping malls on the outskirts of Split were among the first buildings in the city to be affected, and visitors were asked to leave. The Split authorities have made places available for 250 people in a sports hall in case of evacuations.

80 people were injured in Split, most of them firefighters, reports from the local authorities showed on July 18, Hina reported. One death was reported in Croatia but the cause of death was unclear. 

According to preliminary estimates, the wildfires that have been active for the past 30 hours in the coastal area between Omis and Split have consumed 4,500 hectares of pinewood and olive groves, the Split County Firefighting Centre reported on July 18. Croatian firefighters received more than 5,000 calls from desperate local residents.

Around 20 smaller fires in addition to the huge one that hit Split were burning on the Adriatic coast of Croatia, according to Reuters. A total 400 hundred firefighters have been struggling with the blazes while around 100 troops have joined the firefighters.

Electricity and water systems as well as the waste-dumping site were damaged. Roads were closed. Authorities also warned people to keep away from oil stations.

In neighbouring Montenegro, fires have continued to break out close to the capital Podgorica, several days after a total of 34 fires surrounded the capital. 

Fires have also approached the coastal towns of Herceg Novi and Tivat along with the central town of Niksic. At least 100 tourists were evacuated from the Lustica peninsula, one of Montenegro’s tourist hotspots. 

According to the latest interior ministry announcement, the fire at Lustica is still active. “Housing and population are not at risk at present, but the situation is changing from hour to hour. They have no information about the current number of vehicles and field officers. There is a possibility that the evacuation of the population will be required again,” says the statement issued early on July 18. 

Interior Minister Mevludin Nuhodzic had previously assessed the situation as serious, but appealed to calm, saying there was “no reason for dramatisation, fear and panic”. 

“I believe that our services, our institutions, with international assistance, will make all these things in control in the coming days, and I believe that these fires will be extinguished, regardless of the extremely unfavourable weather conditions,” Nuhodzic told journalists after visiting the Lustica area.

The Montenegrin authorities have already asked help from the Emergency Centre of the European Commission.

Croatia has not asked yet for help from the EU, but Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said that the government will consider asking help from the union if needed. Plenkovic attended a crisis meeting on the issue along with Croatia’s defence and interior ministers, and local officials from Split on the morning of July 18. 

Last month, fires hit the Croatian Adriatic resort of Tucepi along with the nearby town of Podgora. The separate fires which were set out in different locations caused suspicion over the sabotage possibility.

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