Nevesinje Fire Forces Emergency in Four Villages
A wildfire near Nevesinje forced an emergency in four villages, and the flame front shifted toward Humcani by morning. Near Herceg Novi it is under control; near Konjic it is in its eighth day.
The Nevesinje Municipal Emergency Situations Staff declared a state of emergency late Wednesday evening, August 12, covering the villages of Presjeka, Kljuna, Borovcici and Kovacici. By then the fire had already reached houses, and that same evening the same fire line crossed the border to Bijela and Baosici near Herceg Novi, prompting a Trebinje fire unit to send two vehicles and ten firefighters to help their Montenegrin colleagues.
Nevesinje municipal chief Milenko Avdalovic described the situation as catastrophic and alarming.
“People’s lives and property are at risk. All available forces have been mobilized, our firefighters are constantly in the field,” Avdalovic said on Wednesday evening.
He spoke again a few hours later, just before the start of the night shift: “The wind is blowing wildly off Crvanj and worsening the situation. Superhuman efforts are being made to save the houses.” He called on residents to join the firefighting effort.
Fire front shifts toward Humcani
The night passed without any homes lost. In the village of Kovacici, fire consumed one small outbuilding, and by the morning of August 13 the situation at the fire site had eased considerably. The fire’s leading edge moved toward Humcani, on the southern slopes of Mount Crvanj, where the terrain is inaccessible and fire trucks cannot get through.
Firefighting units from Gacko, Bileca and Lastva near Trebinje helped Nevesinje’s own firefighters overnight, alongside civil protection, forestry workers and a large number of local residents. Municipal services announced that from early morning they are counting on a helicopter, since that is the only way to reach the fire on the slopes of Crvanj.
Herceg Novi: about fifty homes saved
On the Montenegrin side of the border, the fire burned along the stretch from Bijela toward Baosici, and the fight lasted all night. By morning the fire had been brought under control.
Zlatko Cirovic, commander of the Herceg Novi Rescue and Protection Service, said that at one point around 50 homes were at risk, and that all of them were saved.
“Our main focus was saving the houses. So far we are succeeding,” Cirovic said.
Police evacuated residents from several homes so they would not get in the way of the firefighting effort. The first aircraft from the Montenegrin Interior Ministry reached the fire site, with a second one announced. Alongside Herceg Novi firefighters, crews from Budva, Cetinje, Kotor, Tivat and Niksic took part, along with volunteers from Perast and Lustica, and firefighters from Trebinje. Bijela and Baosici were left without electricity and water.
Why has the Konjic fire been burning for eight days?
Because it is burning on terrain that cannot be reached from the ground. The fire near Konjic, which we reported on when a state of natural disaster was declared, has been burning since August 6 and entered its eighth day today. The affected areas are Kanjina, Zivasnica, Brdjani, Dzepi and Dzepska Mountain.
According to civil protection data, the fire has spread across about eight square kilometers, the perimeter of the fire site is around 11 kilometers, and part of the terrain is suspected to contain landmines. One abandoned house and two outbuildings burned down, while inhabited homes were not endangered.
On Tuesday, a helicopter from the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina flew five sorties over Konjic, a helicopter from the Aviation Unit of the Republika Srpska Interior Ministry flew 11 sorties, and two airplanes were also in the air. In one run lasting one hour and 40 minutes, 4,000 liters of water were dropped on the most critical points. Konjic’s civil protection service says firefighters are at the limit of their strength and that several vehicles broke down during the operations.
A similar deployment of forces was seen on the island of Brac, where a fire above Pucisce was reported at 2:27 a.m. It was put out by 106 firefighters with 31 vehicles and four Canadair water bombers, homes were saved, and power lines in Pucisce, Praznica and Selca were cut for five hours.
Near Nevesinje, everything now depends on whether the helicopter can get there before the wind off Crvanj picks up again. An assessment of the situation on the ground is expected during the day.
