Firefighters battle wildfires in Croatia

Zagreb, Aug 18 (IANS) Firefighters have been battling fires since Friday in Sibenik, Zadar and Split, three major cities in Croatia, and some of the fires are still active, the Croatian Fire Association (HVZ) has said in a statement.The fire that broke out in Sibenik on Friday afternoon is still active, and it is a fire of low vegetation, maquis and pine forest on an area of about 290 hectares, the statement said, adding that an extraordinary deployment from the Zagreb County with 30 firefighters and 10 fire engines arrived at the fire scene early Saturday morning to help firefighters there, Xinhua news agency reported.While in Split, three separate fires were reported, and they were fires of grass and low vegetation, the statement said, noting that two of them have now been extinguished.In Zadar County, firefighters are still on duty at the fire site in the Rodaljice-Benkovac area, which was localised on Friday night. The fire broke out on Friday, and it is a fire of grass, low vegetation and maquis.The lingering heat wave has been the main reason for the wildfires across the country since this summer. --IANSint/sha

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