Fires Subside: Tucaković Reveals Current Situation
After a series of fires across Croatia, the situation has calmed down, but the investigation into the deliberate setting of fires in the Zadar area continues.
After a series of fires across Croatia, the situation has calmed down, but the investigation into the deliberate setting of fires in the Zadar area continues.
After several extremely challenging days battling the fire element, Chief Fire Commander Slavko Tucaković said on Monday morning that the situation is significantly calmer. "Everything is calm. Today we continued with reconnaissance," Tucaković told Net.hr.
The fire that broke out near Ilok on Sunday afternoon, which burned on both sides of the Croatian-Serbian border in the area known as the "Valley of Peace," has been contained. The Chief Fire Commander stated that the fire destroyed approximately 20 hectares. At that location, firefighters battled a young forest, low vegetation, and dry branches, and no structures were damaged.
The situation is also calmer on Dinara. Tucaković claims that the fire has subsided, and air assets were deployed in that area during the previous day.
In the Zadar area, firefighters battled new fires over the weekend, with the situation gradually improving on Sunday. Near Jovići, the fire threatened structures and spread about two kilometers in half an hour to an hour, but firefighters prevented it from reaching the settlements.
Meanwhile, the situation there has stabilized, and there are currently no significant issues at the fire site. The police brought in four individuals after a married couple near Raštevići spotted them near the fire and immediately reported it to the police.
As RTL Danas has learned, USKOK (Office for the Suppression of Corruption and Organized Crime) has become involved in the case due to suspicion of terrorism. A criminal investigation is underway, and it remains to be determined whether the arrested individuals are connected to the setting of one or more fires.
After a period in which fires broke out almost one after another, the situation is now calmer, but firefighters continue to conduct reconnaissance and monitor the fire sites, while police and investigators try to determine the causes of individual fires.
Firefighters also had to respond to highly irresponsible actions, such as the firing of four signal flares in the Makarska Riviera area.
