Firefighters and emergency services in Serbia are battling six active fires that had engulfed more than 1,100 hectares by Saturday evening. The situation is most critical in the Deliblato Sands, where flames have consumed as much as 700 hectares, with members of the army and the Ministry of Interior also involved in the extinguishing operation, the Operational Team of the Republic Emergency Situations Headquarters announced.
Mass Mobilization in the Deliblato Sands
Some 125 firefighters with 29 vehicles and two quad bikes are engaged in extinguishing the fire in this nature reserve. They have been joined by a unit of the Serbian Army with four vehicles and one piece of heavy machinery, and the field capacities of the public enterprises "Srbijavode" and "Vojvodinašume" have also been deployed. Four helicopters of the Serbian Ministry of Interior are extinguishing the fire from the air.
Due to the severity of the situation, a state of emergency has been declared in the Banat municipality of Kovin. Some settlements have already been evacuated. The fire has also affected a power line, leading to power outages in two settlements, and water supply has been suspended because pumps cannot operate.
Unpredictable Winds Hinder Firefighting Efforts
An additional problem for the firefighters is the so-called "rose of three winds," characteristic of the Deliblato Sands area. These winds make the spread of the fire unpredictable, so efforts are being made to contain it preventively by urgently building and widening forest roads.
Other Hotspots Across the Country
On Mount Stolovi, flames are consuming about 200 hectares of dry grass, low vegetation, and deciduous forest. In the Ibar Gorge, at the village of Maglič near Kraljevo, approximately 170 hectares of forested area have been burned. In the east of the country, a fire near Zaječar in the village of Gabrovnica has affected about 100 hectares, and teams on the ground are working around the clock to prevent its further spread.