Fire on Dinara Crosses from BiH: Flames Engulf Nature Park
The fire front broke through the state border between Uništa and Strmica, with two firefighting aircraft providing aerial support.
The fire front broke through the state border between Uništa and Strmica, with two firefighting aircraft providing aerial support.
On Monday, August 17, 2026, it was confirmed that a large open-space fire, which had engulfed the forest on Mount Dinara, had spread from Bosnia and Herzegovina to the Croatian part of the mountain within Šibenik-Knin County. The fire broke out several days ago on the Bosnian side, in the wider area of Bosansko Grahovo, and the fire front has now crossed the state border.
The video surveillance system of the County Fire Operations Center detected the fire crossing onto Croatian territory on the terrain between the settlements of Uništa in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Strmica in Croatia. The flames are moving toward the areas of Ruja, Hercegovića staje, Samari, and Brezovac, and the mountainous terrain is making suppression efforts difficult.
Firefighters from the Šibenik Intervention Fire Brigade, the Knin Public Fire Brigade, and volunteer fire departments from Knin, Kijevo, and Kistanje are battling the blaze. Members of the Croatian Army's firefighting platoon are also taking part in the operation. Two firefighting aircraft are providing aerial support.
The area where firefighting forces are waging an intense battle against the fire is located within the boundaries of Dinara Nature Park. In this protected area, the fire is affecting ecologically sensitive zones, threatening endemic plant and animal species that live there.
A large portion of low vegetation, maquis, and forested areas has burned, and current estimates indicate thousands of hectares of nature destroyed on both sides of the border. Firefighters and military personnel on the ground are making extraordinary efforts to bring the fire under control and stop its spread toward the interior of Dinara Nature Park, as well as toward nearby settlements at the foot of the mountain.
