Fires still burn in Dalmatia as storms hit the north of the country and tourists heading out to sea clog tunnels

Croatian firefighters are still battling fires in the Dalmatia region and elsewhere in the country. Even a brief overnight rain did not significantly reduce the fires near the town of Tučepi and near the village of Vinišće in Split-Dalmatia County, which were still active on Saturday morning, the HINA agency reported.

About a hundred firefighters and 30 vehicles are working to put out a forest fire near the village of Vrsine, which has burned 500 hectares of pine forest and low vegetation. They are being helped by colleagues from surrounding areas. Regarding the status of the fire, which has been burning for the fourth day, the county fire chief Ivan Kovačević Hino told the Pršašvarta portal that the most important thing is that houses and other buildings are protected.

They are afraid of the wind

However, the weather forecast for the region over the next few days is not favorable for firefighters as winds could cause the fire to spread.

Firefighters at the scene take turns to rest every 12 hours before returning to the scene again. Kovacevic said there are always about 200 firefighters at the fire scene, and they have enough equipment and everything necessary.

The forest fire near the town of Skradin in Šibenik-Knin County, which broke out on July 30, has now been brought under control. The fire engulfed about 1,700 hectares of pine forest and bushes.

In inland Croatia, firefighters cleared fallen trees and branches and pumped water from flooded land after a night of heavy storms that hit the municipalities of Koprivnica and Legnardi in the north of the country, as well as the metropolitan area of ​​Zagreb and the counties of Krapina-Zagorska and Mezimurska in the northwest of the country.

Tourists flock to the coast

Slobodná dalmácia writes that this busy weekend saw queues several kilometers long from early morning, and toll booths, ferries and airports were also crowded. On Saturday morning, on the way around Zagreb, the convoy to the Lučko toll booth drove 18 kilometers in one place, and then the convoy continued to Bosilev.

Around 14:00, traffic on the A1 motorway in the direction of Dubrovnik was temporarily stopped at Brinje and Sveti Rok tunnels due to increased traffic density for safety reasons. In the afternoon, there were no long queues at the Lučko toll booth facing the sea.

The ferries and airports were also crowded.