Head of Croatian Firefighting Association (HVZ), Ante Sanader, spoke on Monday on N1 morning programme, Novi Dan, about the wildfire season in Croatia.

Last July saw fierce forest fires along the Adriatic coast, from the Istrian peninsula, to the largest Adriatic city of Split, where the blaze came close to the city suburbs prompting evacuations and causing electricity and water outages in some parts of the city.

After days of struggle with the open flames, the firefighters, aided in some areas by the Croatian military, managed to bring the blaze under control.

The cause of the fire near Split remains unknown.

There is a fire like the one near Split once every ten years, which happens after high temperatures and a two-month dry spell, Sanader said.

“The public only realises there is danger when large wildfires like that one happen,” he said.

He said that, even though Croatian firefighting system was outdated, there have been some investments, such as in fire fighting aircraft.

The biggest problem is unworked land. Tourism is a hit, and no one works in farming anymore. The diminishing population is also a problem, Sanader said.

Unworked plots of land present a fire hazard, especially those on the outskirts of cities, because they enable the fires to spread more easily.

He added that cameras have been placed this year in strategic locations, and that those areas were under close surveillance 24 hours a day.

“The fire cannot surprise us this year. The cameras are a great help to us,” he said.

He also warned that large wildfires such as the one which occurred near Split last July, can happen again, despite the precautions.

“There are certainly cases of arson, but 70 percent of fires are started by accident. People underestimate the threat of wildfires. In situations like last year, when there is no rain for two months, even the bottom of a discarded beer bottle can spark a fire,” he said.

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