Konjic Declares State of Natural Disaster
While firefighters in Herzegovina battle massive wildfires and Konjic seeks international aerial assistance, Dubrovnik police have revealed that the fire on Gorica was caused by illegal fireworks.
While firefighters in Herzegovina battle massive wildfires and Konjic seeks international aerial assistance, Dubrovnik police have revealed that the fire on Gorica was caused by illegal fireworks.
The town of Konjic declared a state of natural disaster on Wednesday due to the extremely severe situation with wildfires spreading on multiple fronts. At the same time, the Dubrovnik-Neretva Police Department confirmed to Dulist that last night's fire in Dubrovnik was caused by illegal fireworks.
According to the report from the Operational Center of Civil Protection of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton (HNK), the situation in the Konjic area is critical. The fire near the settlements of Kanjina, Živašnica, and Brđani is spreading in several directions, with inaccessible terrain and high temperatures hampering firefighting efforts.
All available forces are involved in the suppression: the Konjic Professional Fire Brigade, the "Prenj" Forestry Fire Brigade, the "Neretvica" Volunteer Fire Brigade, as well as firefighters from Hadžići and Tarčin. Dozens of locals and hunters are also on the ground, trying since early morning to prevent the fire from spreading further toward populated areas.
The HNK Civil Protection reports that structures have been destroyed in the fire, though sources differ on the numbers. According to N1 BiH, the fire destroyed several abandoned structures, while Klix.ba specifies that one abandoned house and two barns were burned. Residential buildings have not been threatened so far. Due to the severity of the situation, international aerial firefighting assistance has been requested, and two Air Tractors and one helicopter from the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina are expected to arrive today.
In the municipality of Neum, the fire that has been burning since Saturday, August 8, is spreading along two fronts. The front that dangerously approached houses in the village of Medjugorje on Tuesday afternoon was brought under control around 6:30 PM. In that operation, in addition to two Air Tractors, firefighters from Čapljina and Ravno also participated.
The other front, moving toward Gornje Hrasno, remains active on inaccessible terrain but currently poses no threat to residential buildings. On Tuesday evening, a new fire broke out near the settlement of Lastva, where grass and low vegetation were burning. The situation on Vrando hill is somewhat better, with the fire mostly contained. In addition to the fires in Neum and Konjic, firefighters have also recorded around 20 interventions on smaller fires in Mostar, Čapljina, Stolac, and Čitluk over the past 24 hours.
Following an on-site investigation, the Dubrovnik-Neretva Police Department confirmed that the fire that broke out on Tuesday evening on Josipa Kosora Street, between that street and Od Gorice Street, was caused by illegal fireworks. The perpetrators have not yet been found, and a criminal investigation is ongoing.
The blaze was contained at 1:45 AM, with 22 firefighters from the Dubrovnik Fire Brigade Public Firefighting Unit using seven vehicles, along with four firefighters from the Zaton Volunteer Fire Department with one vehicle, participating in the suppression. The firefighting boat Orlando was also used in the operation. An area of approximately 6,000 square meters was burned.
