Photo: HINA
ZAGREB, Aug. 15 (Balkan View) – Firefighters remained deployed across Croatia’s Adriatic coast on Saturday after a devastating wildfire near the tourist town of Omiš burned around 1,000 hectares, destroyed homes and forced mass evacuations during the height of the summer season.
Conditions improved overnight at several major fire sites, but fires around Lokva Rogoznica near Omiš and on Dugi Otok remained active, according to Croatia’s firefighting authorities.
The Omiš fire, driven by strong winds and extremely dry vegetation, swept through settlements and woodland along the Dalmatian coast after breaking out on Thursday evening.
Reuters reported that the blaze killed one person, injured around 40 and forced about 1,200 residents and tourists to evacuate. Fourteen people were hospitalised and several sustained life-threatening injuries.
Emergency shelters were opened in and around Omiš as flames approached houses, apartments and the Adriatic coastal highway. Residents and tourists described chaotic scenes as people fled the advancing fire.
Hundreds of firefighters, supported by vehicles and firefighting aircraft, were deployed as authorities fought to prevent the blaze from reaching additional populated areas.
‘It swept everything in its way’
Croatia’s chief fire commander Slavko Tucaković described the Omiš blaze as exceptionally intense.
“It was a strong fire, it swept everything on its way,” Tucaković said, adding that material damage was extensive.
By Friday morning, the main front had largely calmed and there were no major open flames around Omiš, but firefighters remained on alert as hot, dry and windy conditions created a risk of renewed outbreaks.
The fire affected an estimated 900 to 1,000 hectares around Omiš and Lokva Rogoznica.
Satellite monitoring detected hundreds of heat signatures as the blaze expanded overnight.
Homes, vehicles, tourist accommodation and vegetation were damaged, while some communities temporarily lost electricity.
Fires spread along the coast
Firefighters were simultaneously dealing with new outbreaks elsewhere in Dalmatia.
A fire above Brbinj on Dugi Otok required around 100 firefighters, including reinforcements brought from the mainland. Authorities said homes were successfully defended.
Other fires were reported around Zadar, Trogir, Pelješac and Dubrovnik, stretching firefighting resources across a large section of Croatia’s coastline.
Aircraft initially deployed around Omiš were redirected to some of the new fires as conditions changed.
The scale of the emergency illustrated how quickly multiple outbreaks can overwhelm firefighting resources during periods of extreme heat and drought.
Peak tourist season hit
The fires struck during one of the busiest weeks of Croatia’s tourism season.
Omiš, between Split and the Makarska Riviera, is one of Dalmatia’s popular coastal destinations and was filled with foreign visitors when the blaze approached residential and tourist areas.
Reuters reported that about 1,000 people initially spent the night in emergency shelters after being evacuated from communities between Omiš and Split.
The Croatian Navy was also placed on standby to assist with evacuations by sea if needed.
The emergency added Croatia to a growing list of European countries fighting major wildfires during an intense period of heat and drought.
Fires have also forced evacuations in Greece, France and Germany, while other southern European countries are facing heightened fire danger.
Authorities investigate cause
Croatian authorities have not announced a final cause of the Omiš fire.
Some local residents and business owners have publicly raised suspicions of arson, but such claims remain unproven and investigators have not established that the fire was deliberately started.
With vegetation exceptionally dry and temperatures high, authorities continue to warn that even small ignition sources can spread rapidly under strong winds.
For communities around Omiš, the immediate fight has shifted from mass evacuation to containing remaining hotspots, assessing destroyed property and determining how one of the most serious fires of Croatia’s summer began.