"Representatives of the government, firefighters, and army on Monday said at the Divulje air base that they had seen that firefighters and the system were prepared for the wildfire season ahead," state agency Hina reported on Monday.

Defence Minister, Mario Banozic, Interior Minister, Davor Bozinovic, Firefighter Chief Commander, Slavko Tucakovic, and the Chief-of-Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces, Robert Hranj, visited the Operational Fire Command at Divulje.

They said that all the “necessary steps have been taken for preparedness for the coming wildfire season,” but also “called on citizens and tourists to be alert and to immediately report any fires erupting,” Hina said.

“We have seen that the Operational Fire Command is prepared for the coming season,” said Defence Minister Banozic. “Croatian Amy has prepared land, sea and air forces for the fire-fighting season,” he said.

Six Canadair planes available, one damaged

Banozic said that six Canadair planes are available, in addition to six Air Tractors and one helicopter. The Armed Forces will ensure up to 200 soldiers on stand-by for emergency interventions and two landing boats and two rubber dinghies.

He added that two Canadair planes and one Air Tractor were currently having a technical inspection while one Canadair plane was damaged by a bird.

Interior Minister Bozinovic underscored that the government will continue equipping emergency services, including firefighters. He recalled that the second-last shipment of state-of-the-art firefighting vehicles were delivered last week and that the last shipment of 94 vehicles will arrive ahead of the tourist season.

Croatia has received funds to maintain two Canadair planes

Bozinovic said that the European Commission had just announced that Croatia has been approved €1.8 million for maintenance of two Canadair planes that will be part of a joint European force, prepared to assist with forest fires across borders.

He added that Croatia would continue to absorb funds from the EU, saying Croatia has been recognized as a responsible partner that is worth investing in at the EU level.

Firefighting Chief Tucakovic said that this year the system will be connected with 96 cameras that will transmit information about wildfires to the Divulje Operational Fire Command. Drones will also be engaged in that task, he said.

“We are in the process of employing 1,172 firefighters in seven coastal counties which will contribute to improving the entire firefighting system to react faster to wildfires,” said Tucakovic.