Update 19:00
Fire under control, firefighters remain on duty
In the late afternoon at the fire site on Hvar, there was a Canadair planes who soaked the peripheral parts of the fire site so that there would be no major problems during the night. Two Canadairs were sent to the south, where a fire also broke out.
The guest of RTL Danas was Slavko Tucaković, fire chief, who spoke about the current situation with fires in Croatia, as well as the situation on Hvar. Tucaković expressed his condolences to the family of the deceased man.
“Unfortunately, this tragedy happened. The houses are no longer threatened. There are 55 firefighters, 15 vehicles and one Canadair on the ground. There is no further threat, the firefighters will stay all night, and help will come from Split in the morning.”
Tucaković also confirmed that an investigation is underway to find out how the man died.
“We have sent the Canadairs to the area of Prevlaka where there is a fire next to the border crossing. If necessary, they will be redirected to the area of Slano”, added Tucaković.
He also praised the local fire brigade that put out the fire in Kaštela last night.
“In a very short time, a large number of firefighters brought the fire under control. So far, we have had 6,609 fires, 100 fires have been sent to the fire brigade. With the great effort of the ground forces, but also with the help of the fire brigade, we are doing a good job. The burned areas are three times larger than last time It is a very intense and difficult season,” said Tucaković.
“In the rest of the summer, there will be fires, the weather is not favorable, there is wind. It can also be a warning to all citizens not to light an open fire and if there is a fire, notify the firefighters very quickly. If there is a fire, I would ask all citizens not to go near it fire and a tragedy like this one can occur today. You should listen to the instructions of the emergency services on the ground. Especially do not fly drones, they can be fatal for our air force,” said Tucaković.
(1530 update from Index.hr: – A man died in the fire while trying to save property from the fire.
“An investigation will be conducted at the scene to determine all the facts and circumstances of the event,” Jerko Kurevija from the Split-Dalmatia Police confirmed for Dalmacija Danas.)
According to unofficial information, a man who tried to save the excavator from the fire was killed, but then tragedy struck.
The portal repors that all the fire brigades are on the scene, and that three Canadair fire-fighting planes are en route to tackle the blazes from the air.
Shortly before 1:00 p.m., a fire broke near the village of Dol, and at 1:40 p.m. a fire report was received near Zastražišće. Dol is a central village, located between Jelsa and Stari Grad, while Zastrazisce is in eastern Hvar. (15:00 Update – Hvar photo journalist Jaksa Kuzmicic has sent a message saying there is no fire at Zastrazisce, only between the villages of Vrbanj and Dol).
Firefighters from DVD Jelsa, Stari Grad and Hvar Town have been dispatched to tackle both fires..
A dense pine forest is burning. There is no initial information about buildings under threat, but putting out the fires has been made more difficult by a strong tramontana wind.
The view from Dol, taken by Norman Woollons.
We will update this article as more information comes in.
The fire near Dol.
– At the moment, three Canadairs have arrived. The fire is being extinguished by all forces from the island, so far no call has been made for reinforcements from the mainland. We are intensively monitoring the fire through the surveillance camera system, we have no information about the direct threats to the buildings – said the county fire chief Ivan Kovačević.
The village of Vrbanj next to Dol.
