ZAGREB, 14 July (Hina) – Croatia’s chief fire commander, Slavko Tucaković, said on Tuesday this year’s wildfire season was likely to be one of the toughest, with the number of wildfires up almost 22% and the burned area increasing by 78.5% year on year.

Addressing Parliament’s Internal Affairs and National Security Committee, Tucaković said the number of wildfires had risen by 21.87% compared with the same period last year, while the burned area had increased by 78.5% to about 7,500 hectares. He noted that the total remained below the levels recorded in 2017 and 2022.

Referring to the recent major wildfire on the island of Korčula, he said an estimated 900 hectares had burned, almost double the initial estimate, but no one had been killed and only two firefighters had been injured.

Tucaković warned of a new challenge posed by dry thunderstorms that produce lightning without rain, often in inaccessible areas, making the construction of access roads essential.

He said the coastal firefighting force would be reinforced by 94 firefighters from inland Croatia and between 930 and 1,000 seasonal firefighters would be recruited, with a gross monthly salary of €1,800. More than €4.36 million has been earmarked for firefighting activities this year.

Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Tomo Medved said Croatia had procured 78 fire engines, 48 water tankers and installed 224 surveillance cameras at 113 locations, all linked to the operational firefighting command centre at Divulje for real-time monitoring of the coast.

Medved said Croatia had entered the wildfire season with six Canadair firefighting aircraft and six Air Tractor aircraft, while Tucaković praised the Canadair crews as among the world’s best and highlighted volunteer firefighters as one of Croatia’s greatest strengths. He also noted that 302 new professional firefighters had graduated from the State Firefighting School this year.