Dozens evacuated as forest fire erupts in southern Croatia
Four homes were burnt down (AFP Photo/STR)A forest fire erupted Tuesday in Croatia\’s southern Peljesac peninsula, prompting the evacuation of dozens of villagers and tourists and destroying four houses, officials said.
The blaze broke out near the town of Orebic. It threatened the hamlet of Mokalo whose 40 inhabitants were evacuated, the national rescue and protection directorate (DZUS) said.
Tourists from two nearby camps were also evacuated, it added.
Meanwhile, strong winds hampered firefighting efforts and prevented the use of two water-bombing planes, they said.
"The situation in the Orebic area is pretty serious," national firefighting commander Slavko Tucakovic told state-run television.
"Unfortunately four houses were burned down but there are no casualties," he said.
This summer Croatia did not see major forest fires which mainly namely threaten its Adriatic coast.
But in 2017, summer fires were among the worst in several years, with 83,000 hectares (205,000) of forests damaged.
SOURCE: AFP
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