The Croatian forest management company, Hrvatske Sume (HS) on Thursday called on citizens and tourists to behave responsibly and call 193 or 112 if they notice smoke. It added that 90% of wildfires are caused by humans.

“One deliberate act of being mindful of how you behave around forests can make more of a difference than a series of year-round wildfire prevention measures, as seen in the devastating wildfires that have ravaged everything before them in recent weeks. An unextinguished beekeeper’s smoke, a signal rocket fired while socialising on a boat ashore, and glass debris left behind that can burn dry vegetation with the sun’s rays are just some of the triggers of this year’s wildfires that can be reduced to a common denominator: human negligence,” HS said in a press release.

HS emphasised that only the wildfire that was prevented can be “extinguished” in time, adding that up to 90% of wildfires are caused by humans.

16 million euros invested in fire prevention, 220 cameras distributed at 110 locations in the forests

This year, almost 16 million euros will be invested in fire prevention. However, HS emphasised that no technology can replace a moment of carelessness and that 30 days without rain, together with stormy winds and high temperatures, also threaten homes.

HS added that from 2022 to 2025, video surveillance systems with smoke and fire detection and a fire spread simulator will be installed in order to be able to act even better in cooperation with the civil defence forces, especially the Croatian Fire Brigade.

There are 220 cameras spread across 110 locations in the forests, which represents an increase of around 60% compared to last year.

During the firefighting season, almost 200 additional temporary staff are employed to shorten the response time to any smoke observations. In addition, 72 agreements have been signed with volunteer fire brigades in which HŠ contributes to the financing of monitoring and standby services.

In the last three years, 320 kilometres of new fire service access roads have been built, while the 2,600 existing ones are maintained throughout the year, as are the fire stations.