Post by BL on Jul 30, 2003 23:55:58 GMT
Huge forest fires set southern Croatia ablaze
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ZAGREB, July 30 (Reuters) - Scores of firefighters struggled to contain huge forest fires raging in Croatia's touristy southern Adriatic on Wednesday.
The biggest blaze started on Tuesday in the Paklenica national park near the coastal town of Zadar, a popular destination for holidaymakers and climbers, state radio said.
About 150 firefighters, supported by two water planes and a helicopter, were tackling the fire that had devoured 210 hectares (about 520 acres) of pine forest.
S. northerly winds and rough terrain made the firefighters' job extremely difficult, the radio said.
On the southern Croatian islands of Brac and Hvar, both packed with tourists, three blazes destroyed 80 hectares (about 200 acres) of pine trees, olive groves and scrub.
State news agency Hina reported another fire in the vicinity of Sibenik, another tourist centre in the Dalmatia region.
Hot and dry weather is often behind the forest fires that are common in summer along the Croatian coast, a popular destination for European tourists. Arsonists are also blamed for starting some of them.
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ZAGREB, July 30 (Reuters) - Scores of firefighters struggled to contain huge forest fires raging in Croatia's touristy southern Adriatic on Wednesday.
The biggest blaze started on Tuesday in the Paklenica national park near the coastal town of Zadar, a popular destination for holidaymakers and climbers, state radio said.
About 150 firefighters, supported by two water planes and a helicopter, were tackling the fire that had devoured 210 hectares (about 520 acres) of pine forest.
S. northerly winds and rough terrain made the firefighters' job extremely difficult, the radio said.
On the southern Croatian islands of Brac and Hvar, both packed with tourists, three blazes destroyed 80 hectares (about 200 acres) of pine trees, olive groves and scrub.
State news agency Hina reported another fire in the vicinity of Sibenik, another tourist centre in the Dalmatia region.
Hot and dry weather is often behind the forest fires that are common in summer along the Croatian coast, a popular destination for European tourists. Arsonists are also blamed for starting some of them.