ZAGREB, Aug 17, 2020 - Since the start of 2020, a total of 39,111 hectares of land have been consumed by 4,693 fires, which is a 16% drop in the number of wildfires, however, the area consumed by fires is 20% larger, the Croatian Firefighting Association has said.

Statistics for the coastal and karst regions are even higher, with a total of 3,294 fires having been reported by August 15. This is an increase of about 2% compared to last year, but a total of 30,455 hectares of land were consumed, as much as 69% more than in 2019.

Chief firefighting commander Slavko Tucakovic has said that the fire season is still underway and that all forces are still active in the field. Thunderstorms have been the most frequent cause of this year's fires, he said.

Apart from putting out fires, firefighters have also had more than 500 interventions to remove the consequences of recent rainstorms in Zagreb and neighbouring counties.

While the situation is far from what it was during summer 2017 on the Dalmatian coast, Croatia has so far seen 5,300 fires before the end of July, which is more than were reported during the whole of 2018.

The fire which broke out in Dubravica close to Skradin in Šibenik-Knin County has now finally been extinguished, after four long days of fighting the steadily progressing flames.

As SibenikIN/VB writes on the 11th of August, 2019, the potentially devastating fire which broke out and very quickly took hold in the Dubravica area near Skradin in a thick pine forest on Thursday afternoon, and then broke out once again on Friday was finally completely extinguished this morning at 09:32, according to the Operations and Communications Centre of the Šibenik police.

The inaccessible, wild terrain and the dense pine forests made it extremely easy for the fire to spread among the dry wood and leaves under the heat of the sun, but also made it very difficult for firefighters to do their work properly on foot, so yesterday, an airtractor made sure to properly soak the burned out area in the hills near Skradin so as to prevent any further spreading of the flames.

The Croatian Air Force were called in to assist the situation on Thursday and Friday as well, with about thirty hours of flight time and about 370 water bombs, or about 2000 tons of water, dropped on the burned area.

On the first day, the fire was extinguished by four firefighting aircraft, while on Friday, six Croatian Air Force firefighting aircraft were involved in controlling and extinguishing the flames.

According to initial estimates, more than 7.5 hectares of land were burned, and members of local PUPs and DVDs and members of the Šibenik SEC participated in the firefight.

Make sure to follow our dedicated lifestyle page for more information on fires in Croatia, and much more.

A touch of Croatia in a far away land.

Firefighters are still fighting fires all over Dalmatia. The most critical situation is still in Šibenik-Knin County and Zadar County. 

Firefighters are still fighting fires in ​​Split-Dalmatia County, Hvar and several other locations. In Šibenik-Knin County, the situation is critical.

Who is responsible for the chaos on A1 motorway near Benkovac, which happened yesterday, August 21, due to raging fires in Zadar area?

A close call as another fire with a potential threat to Konavle is extinguished.

Another close call as a fire close to Metković is extinguished.

The campaign is even trending on Go Fund Me!