Dalmatia in Flames: Fire on Korčula Devours 500 Hectares of Pine Forest, Evacuations on Pelješac

Last night, about 50 residents had to leave their homes due to a large fire that broke out around 11 PM near the village of Pijavičino on the Pelješac peninsula, reports HRT, as carried by the news agency Patria.

A dense pine forest is burning over a stretch of two kilometres, and despite the efforts of firefighters, the fire approached houses in Trstenik around 3 AM, which had to be almost completely evacuated. The fire line extends over more than two kilometres, and all available firefighting forces are on the ground.

"Through superhuman efforts, we managed to defend the houses tonight. All members of the surrounding volunteer fire departments and two water-bombing aircraft came to our aid, but the fire is still not under control. The good news is that no residents or firefighters have been injured, but great damage has been done to the pine forest and the famous Grgić vineyard," said Nikša Nogalo, commander of the Orebić Volunteer Fire Department, for Index.

"Several abandoned buildings have burned down, and for now it seems that the Grgić winery has suffered the greatest damage," confirms Tomislav Vuko, commander of the DVIP and assistant to the chief fire commander for the coastal area, who arrived at the fire site this morning.

"Firefighting teams from Zadar and Šibenik have also arrived at the scene, involving several dozen firefighters. We are operating at full capacity; the wind keeps changing direction, making the job more difficult. We expect the fire to be brought under control by the afternoon," says Vuko.

The situation is also difficult in the area of Smokvica on Korčula, where a fire broke out over the weekend. After being contained on the northeastern side, it got out of control again yesterday. The most critical area is around the village of Brna. The fire has so far consumed more than 500 hectares of dense pine forest.

A pine forest was also burning yesterday afternoon in Široke near Primošten, but after two and a half hours of fighting, just as it reached the vicinity of houses, firefighters managed to bring it under control. Alongside firefighters, water-bombing aircraft also had to intervene at this fire site.