August 2, 2022 - More fires near Sibenik, with roads closes and 3 Canadairs providing aerial firefighting support.

As reported by Index.hr, with live updates:

More fires near Šibenik, closed guide ring road, 3 canards arrived

A LITTLE before noon, several fires broke out in the wider Šibenik area. It is burning on the highway at the turn for Jadrija (there are two fires there) and in Dubrava in the direction of the Podi industrial zone. Canadians arrived to help.

2 minutes ago

Police: Journalists are asked not to try to pass the roadblocks
"Three fires are currently active in the area of ​​the Šibenik-Knin County, two of which are in the area of ​​the Vodice ring road at the turns towards Jadrija and Srima. The third fire is in the area of ​​Dubrava.

Due to the work of the firefighters, the following roads are currently closed:

Section D-8 (Adriatic highway) from the turn onto the Benkovac road to the end of the Vodice ring road

Podi-Dubrava section.

Journalists who are in the vicinity of the fire are asked not to try to pass by the roadblocks," the police reported.

21 minutes ago

Three Canadair fire-fighting plans have arrived

As we learned from Vodice firefighters, three Canadairs have arrived to help them a few minutes before 1 p.m., and all available firefighting forces are on the ground.

So far, it is not close to buildings, except for a couple of agricultural houses, they added.

You can't go to Šibenik from Vodice, they say.

"Within 5 minutes, it started burning in three places," the firefighters told us. Two fires are burning near the turn for Jadrija and one near Šibenik's Dubrava.

27 minutes ago

Notice of HAK (Croatian Roads)

Due to the fire, the section between the Šibenik bridge and the end of the guide ring road has been closed. The detour is on the state road DC27 towards Benkovac.

41 minutes ago

There are more fires

According to the first information, it is burning in two places between Vodice and Jadrija, and the fire also broke out near Dubrava.

43 minutes ago

Closed Vodice ring road

The commander of JVP Vodice, Ivan Begić, told Sibenik.in portal that the Vodice bypass towards the Hacienda club is closed.

You can follow the latest on Index here.

July 14, 2022 - The latest on the fires in Vodice, Zaton, and Sibenik, which broke out on Wednesday, July 13. 

A large fire broke out on Wednesday in the hinterland of Sibenik, and during the afternoon, the fire spread to Zaton and Raslina. Residents of Zaton and Raslina had to leave their homes, and some were evacuated by boat. During the evening, some residents returned home. About 20 houses burned down, and the fire also destroyed several cars. 

Two Canadairs have been in action since the early morning. The fire chief reported that the fire is under control, reports Jutarnji List.

08:10 am - Darko Dukić, commander of the Šibenik-Knin County Fire Brigade, told HRT that the situation is under control but that the moment when he will be able to say that the fire is localized is far away.

"Be careful; the fire covered 3,300 hectares; that's a huge area. In addition, there is a lot of pine forest in the area towards Vodice, and if the fire had engulfed that area, the fire would have reached Tribunj," said Dukić.

07:45 am - The Croatian Fire Association announced on Thursday morning that more than 300 firefighters fought the fire near Zaton and Raslina during the night from Wednesday to Thursday.

"On Thursday around 2:00 am, firefighters partially managed to bring the fire under control. On Thursday morning, there is no uncontrolled fire spread and large fronts. The fire is surrounded," said the Croatian Fire Association (HVZ).

"Since 6:00 am, two Canadairs have been used. Tonight, 350 firefighters, 50 soldiers, 54 police officers, and many citizens were involved. One hundred eighteen firefighters with 40 firefighters came from the interior," said chief fire commander Slavko Tucaković and added that extraordinary deployments were engaged from Split-Dalmatia, Lika-Senj, Primorje-Gorski Kotar, Karlovac, Zagreb, and Zadar counties, and Koprivnica-Križevac county is coming.

There was no evacuation order tonight, the residents defended their houses, and we thank them. There was significant material damage to homes and olive groves, but luckily no one was injured. It is estimated that around 3,000 hectares were burned," added Tucaković.

HVZ states that firefighters and other forces remain at the fire site until further notice.

07:30 am - Minister Davor Božinović also visited the fire this morning. He pointed out that the situation is better than yesterday:

"Morning in Zaton and Raslina. A better situation, no large fire fronts, and uncontrolled expansion towards Vodice. More favorable weather conditions. Around 350 firefighters from Šibenik and six other counties worked all night, with the support of many citizens, soldiers in the Raslina area, and 75 police officers to secure the fire and traffic. Thanks, everyone," announced Bozinović.

07:02 am - Due to the fire in the Šibenik area, the DC8 is closed to all traffic; the state road DC27 from the intersection with the Adriatic highway (DC8) to Gaćelezi and the county road Vodice-Gaćelezi (ŽC6086), the Croatian Auto Club (HAK) reported on Thursday morning.

06:50 am - Slavko Tucaković, chief fire chief, appeared on the show 'Good Morning Croatia' and explained what happened during the night near Šibenik.

"Fortunately, the night was less fiery. The key moment happened around 2 am when the wind stopped, and there is currently no uncontrolled fire spread, as we surrounded the fire from all sides. Two Canadairs also took off this morning," Tucaković said, confirming that the situation was challenging yesterday.

"It was a firestorm. Material damage is excellent, about 20 houses were damaged. Fortunately, there were no casualties; several firefighters were slightly injured, one fell into a well. We all have to move on together; the damage was great... But, everyone came to help."

04:45 am - On early Thursday morning, the Sibenik area is still burning, and the firefighters are processing the peripheral part of the fire area next to the buildings in the towns of Raslina and Zaton. That work awaits them all night, said the deputy commander of the Public Fire Department of the city of Šibenik. 

The county commander of the Sibenik-Knin Fire Brigade, Darko Dukić, told Croatian Radio at 2:00 am on Thursday that the situation in the area of Zaton and Raslina had calmed down and that the fire was open in the direction of Vodice.

"The situation in the area of Zaton and Raslina has calmed down. However, we have an open fire in the direction of Vodice towards the Adriatic highway, which is closed to all traffic. All the fire brigades are deployed in that part, and we are stopping the spread of the fire towards the highway and further towards the houses in Vodice and the area of Srima. In the last few hours, the work has been done successfully in that part, the wind has stopped somewhat, and we will see how the situation will develop further. Colleagues from Zadar County, Lika-Senj, and Primorje-Gorski Kotar have joined us, and Karlovac County is joining us very soon," said Dukić.

The commander of the Šibenik fire brigade, Volimir Milošević, presented the situation on the ground in the early hours of Thursday.

"I will go by places: In Raslina, the situation is much better. The fire is not localized but is no longer so active that it endangers buildings. In Zaton, the situation is somewhat better. However, a large area around these places needs to be rehabilitated. We cannot consider it localized until the firefighters pass by on foot. The problem is that the fire in Zaton is moving along the hills in the direction of Vodice, that is, Srima, and the Jadranska magistrala, and this is what the firefighters are doing most now - they are preventing the fire from crossing the Jadranska magistrala, or Benkovac road. The buildings are less threatened at the moment, but the fire is quite large. The forces we receive from neighboring counties and other parts are on their way, and some larger ones have arrived. Tired firefighters will be at least partially replaced," said Milošević.

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July 13, 2022 - Three fires in Dalmatia broke out on Wednesday - two in Šibenik-Knin County and one in Zadar County. The current situation is not good.

This article has been updated. Click here for the latest update of the fire in Sibenik at 20:45 pm.

Three fires are active in Dalmatia, one in Zadar County and two in Šibenik-Knin County, the Croatian Fire Brigade Association (HVZ) announced on Wednesday, reports Jutarnji List and HRT.

"We once again appeal to the citizens to be extra careful due to the extremely unfavorable weather conditions, which include a very high risk of forest fires breaking out in almost the entire area of Croatia," said chief fire commander Slavko Tucaković.

In the village of Boraja near Šibenik, a fire broke out due to a traffic accident, after which the surrounding vegetation caught fire. A Canadair was sent to extinguish the fire, with the help of the fire brigade on land.

In the same county, there is also an active fire on Benkovačka cesta, which is also being extinguished by firefighters.

Vodice JVP commander Antonio Begić told Dalmacija Danas that the fire on Benkovačka cesta is quite large, that 45 firefighters are putting it out, and that the number of firefighters is growing.

"The Air Force is helping us, specifically two Canadairs. There is a pine forest above, low vegetation, there are also endangered buildings, so we are now concentrating on that," added Begić. Begić said that the firefighters do not yet have control over the fire.

A traffic accident also caused a fire in Zadar County, in the area of Visočane. A van was ignited which caused the fire to spread to grass and low vegetation.

Firefighters point out that there is no danger of the fire spreading to the buildings, and firefighters and Canadairs have already been sent to the scene.

HVZ reminds citizens that it is forbidden to burn weeds, especially in windy weather, to use barbecues in nature, and to throw cigarette butts and any other irresponsible behavior that may cause a fire.

For more news in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.