Four Arrested Near Benkovac Over Suspected Wildfire Arson

Zadar County Police say four people were arrested Saturday night in the wider Benkovac area on suspicion of being linked to wildfires set across Zadar’s hinterland. The news lands at the height of August, in the same week a fire near Lokva Rogoznica killed one person, injured 43 and forced the evacuation of roughly 2,500 people into reception centers, which means the question of who is setting the brush alight stops being purely a Croatian story and starts mattering to anyone traveling through Dalmatia or watching the region right now.

Four people were arrested last night in the wider Benkovac area on suspicion of being linked to setting fires in the Zadar area.

That is how Zadar police described the start of the case in a statement released Sunday. What sent officers into the field was not a routine patrol but a phone call.

It all started last night after 8 p.m., when residents alerted police to the suspicious behavior of four people in the wider Benkovac area.

Officers searched the area, the statement says, and quickly located and stopped a car carrying the four, taking all of them in for questioning. A criminal investigation is now underway, and Zadar police say more details on the circumstances will only be released once it concludes. Their ages, nationality and any prior record have not been disclosed, and police have not said which specific fires they are suspected of setting.

Seven Fires in One Day Around Benkovac

The arrests followed a day in which firefighters in the Benkovac area were called out to multiple open-land fires, both during the day and overnight. Fires broke out at seven locations on August 15:

• Biljane
• Lisani Tinjski
• Zapuzani
• Zagrad
• Dobropoljci
• Biograd na Torovima
• Privlaka

“Thanks to a quick response, all the fires were brought under control very quickly,” Zadar County Police said.

By Sunday, crews in Zadar County were still on watch at fire sites on Dugi Otok, in Ninski Stanovi and Zerava, as well as around Galovac and Prkos. Near Ninski Stanovi, where the call came in on August 14 at 15:23, grass, low brush and maquis shrubland were burning, and 79 firefighters with 29 vehicles worked the blaze. On Dugi Otok, near the village of Savar, 50 firefighters with 19 vehicles were deployed.

How Harsh Are Croatia’s Penalties for Arson?

Croatian law draws a sharp line between carelessness and intent. Starting a fire through negligence carries a fine of 260 to 1,990 euros. Setting one deliberately carries a fine of 1,990 to 19,900 euros or up to 60 days in prison.

If a fire endangers human life or causes major property damage, the penalty is far steeper, up to 15 years in prison. Until a final verdict, the four people arrested are only suspects in an ongoing investigation, and guilt is not established before a court rules.

Fire South of Zadar

Zadar’s hinterland is only one front. The fire near Lokva Rogoznica, reported on August 13 at 20:15, tore through grass, low brush and pine forest across roughly 1,000 hectares. It killed one person, injured 43, including three firefighters, and forced the evacuation of about 2,500 people.

In Split-Dalmatia County, 253 firefighters with 83 vehicles were deployed on August 15, backed from the air by four Canadair water bombers and four air tractors. On the Peljesac peninsula, near Kuna Peljeska, a fire reported on August 14 at 06:06 burned through roughly 500 hectares of pine forest.

Croatian firefighters, warning that weather conditions and strong coastal winds are fueling brush fires, reminded the public that open fires are banned outdoors and urged anyone who spots a fire to call 193 immediately.

Zadar police have not given a timeline for when the criminal investigation into the four suspects is expected to conclude.