A wildfire raging along Croatia’s Adriatic coast has triggered a mass exodus of tourists, reported the dpa news agency.
Several tourist destinations along the coast have been affected by the blaze, and a section of the Adriatic Highway between Omiš and Dubci has been closed to traffic, Croatian media reported on Saturday. There are currently no reports of casualties related to the fire.
The fire ignited approximately 30 kilometers south of Split, near the popular coastal towns of Pisak and Marušići.
“The fire is flaring up, and we don’t have it under control; we are saving house by house,” said Višeslav Pešić, commander of the Omiš firefighters, as reported by Croatian Radio Television (HRT). HRT stated that in the previous two days, fires had broken out in 17 locations from Omiš to the Makarska Riviera, but quick intervention by firefighters extinguished those blazes within a few hours.
Firefighters noted that some residents of the affected areas have been evacuated due to the fires. Drought conditions, high temperatures, and strong winds are fueling the spread of the fire through the dense pine forests of the region.
The cause of the fires, which have destroyed numerous homes and cars, is currently unknown.
