Widespread wildfires in Serbia: one dead, several injured

Fire crews in Serbia are battling dozens of blazes that have been burning for days, with one confirmed fatality and several people injured as the situation threatens to worsen under a new heat wave and gusty winds.

The largest and longest-running fire is in the Deliblatsko reserve, roughly 60 kilometres north of Belgrade, where flames that in places have been smouldering since late July turned into a major conflagration on 5 August. Helicopters have been shuttling to the Danube to collect water for aerial drops.

More than 3,500 hectares scorched in the reserve

Authorities report that more than 3,500 hectares of the reserve have burned so far; the protected area covers about 35,000 hectares in total. On 17 August, Interior Minister Ivica Dačić said that "approximately one third of the total area of Deliblatsko Sands has burned." The reserve — often described as the largest sand area in Europe and nicknamed the "European Sahara" — is home to hundreds of species, including around 900 plant species with rare and endemic varieties. One of the worst past fires there occurred in 1996, when nearly 7,000 hectares were destroyed.

Near Kraljevo, firefighting teams are also fighting large fires on and around Stolovi mountain. The blaze there has affected about 200 hectares of extremely inaccessible, rocky terrain, and overnight winds have again fanned flames and reactivated several hotspots.

Local authorities declared a state of emergency on part of the Kladovo municipality after several villages — an area of roughly 13 square kilometres — came under threat from advancing fires.

Emergency services confirmed the first fatality in Smederevo: a 70-year-old man died, Davor Vidović, assistant chief of the Directorate for Firefighting and Rescue Units of the Sector for Emergency Situations, said. Separate fires broke out on 15 August near the Bovan Lakes in the Aleksinac municipality, about 30 kilometres from Niš; that fire has since been contained and a suspect has been arrested, reportedly admitting to the crime of causing a public danger.

Meteorologists warned that a new heat wave combined with southerly and southwesterly winds will make firefighting conditions significantly worse. Forecasts indicate stronger winds tomorrow in the Koshava area, Banat and in mountainous regions, with gusts expanding to other parts of the country from Saturday. Forecasters also expect a period of markedly reduced rainfall, prolonging drought, drying vegetation and raising the risk of new and rapidly spreading wildfires.

Photo: printskrin / RTS