Stolovi and Goc Fires Contained, 20 Still Burning in Serbia
Serbia's Interior Ministry announced that wildfires on Stolovi near Kraljevo and on Goc near Vrnjacka Banja were contained after 28 days. Twenty wildfires remain active across Serbia.
Serbia’s Interior Ministry announced on September 2 that wildfires on Stolovi mountain near Kraljevo and on Goc near Vrnjacka Banja have been contained. The fire on Stolovi broke out on August 5, meaning firefighting crews spent 28 days battling the blaze. The ministry’s Sector for Emergency Situations said no one was killed or injured in either fire.
Even with both fires contained, emergency services are continuing to monitor the situation on the ground. As of the morning of September 3, 20 wildfires were still active across Serbian territory.
Four hot spots on Stolovi, the last one put out Tuesday
The fire on Stolovi burned across four separate locations in total. Three were contained earlier, a stage we covered on August 31 in “Stolovi Near Kraljevo Improving, New Fire Breaks Out Near Novi Pazar.” The fourth and final hot spot was contained on September 2.
Around 300 firefighters took part in the effort. Crews came from Kraljevo, Uzice, Prijepolje, Nis, Cacak, Krusevac, Novi Pazar and Kragujevac, alongside the Serbian Army’s Helicopter Unit. International helicopter teams from Romania, the Czech Republic and Slovakia joined the operation as well.
Volunteer firefighting societies, the state forestry company Srbijasume, the public utility company Vodovod, police officers, Koridori Srbije, the Serbian-Russian Humanitarian Center and local residents also helped with the response.
Dragan Reljic, director of the Stolovi Forest Estate, told TV Prva:
“After an exhausting fight, the fire was contained yesterday. That means the burned perimeter has been sealed off and there is no danger of it spreading further.”
He added that smaller hot spots remain, mostly smoldering tree stumps, and that crews will keep clearing them over the coming days. Pero Lukovic, commander of the Kraljevo Fire and Rescue Brigade, said much the same in a statement carried by Tanjug at 8:11 a.m. on September 3, noting that the Stolovi fire is under control and that firefighters expect it to be almost entirely extinguished soon.
Goc contained, but the fire on Ravna Gora keeps growing
Alongside Stolovi, the Interior Ministry also contained the fire on Goc near Vrnjacka Banja on September 2. No injuries were reported there either.
Not every fire in Serbia is losing ground, though. In its September 3 roundup, B92 reported that a blaze on Ravna Gora near Gornji Milanovac, in the area of the villages of Brajici and Kostunici, has spread across more than 15 hectares. As of reports from August 30, the estimate stood at around 10 hectares, meaning the burned area grew significantly within a few days.
According to Sector for Emergency Situations data from the morning of September 3, 20 wildfires are currently active across Serbian territory. Authorities say they will keep monitoring the situation and clearing the remaining smaller hot spots.
