2007 Croatian coast fires
Fires in Dalmatia
Fires in Dalmatia
-----------------

There were several fires in [Dalmatia](/wiki/Dalmatia "Dalmatia") in July and August. The first fire broke out in the afternoon of [26 July](/wiki/Portal:Current_events/2007_July_26 "Current events/2007 July 26"), on Veliki Rujan, which is right next to the [Paklenica National Park](/wiki/Paklenica "Paklenica"). The most endangered area was the southeast part of the National Park. The fire was fought by more than 200 firemen, National Park employees and members of the [Croatian Army](/wiki/Croatian_Ground_Army "Croatian Ground Army"). The firemen received reinforcements during the next days. There were also two [firefighting planes](/wiki/Aerial_firefighting "Aerial firefighting") and a helicopter. A fire broke out on the [Svilaja Mountain](/wiki/Svilaja "Svilaja"), but it was soon localized.

The fire near Podstražje, a village by the Rukavac Cove on the island of [Vis](/wiki/Vis_%28island%29 "Vis (island)"), was localized on [7 August](/wiki/Portal:Current_events/2007_August_7 "Current events/2007 August 7") by the professionals and volunteers from Vis and [Komiža](/wiki/Komi%C5%BEa "Komiža"), with 46 firemen and nine fire engines. The August fire near [Lake Vrana](/wiki/Lake_Vrana_%28Dalmatia%29 "Lake Vrana (Dalmatia)") was soon localized.

On [8 August](/wiki/Portal:Current_events/2007_August_8 "Current events/2007 August 8"), a fire broke out around Žitnić, spreading to the [mined area](/wiki/Minefields_in_Croatia "Minefields in Croatia") along the [Šibenik](/wiki/%C5%A0ibenik "Šibenik")\-[Drniš](/wiki/Drni%C5%A1 "Drniš") state road, which was closed for traffic. 21 professional and volunteer firemen and six fire engines from Drniš fought it.

### Kornati tragedy

[thumb\|300px\|Kornati in May 2003](/wiki/File:Kornati_in_May_2003_year.jpg "Kornati in May 2003 year.jpg")
On [30 August](/wiki/Portal:Current_events/2007_August_30 "Current events/2007 August 30"), a new fire broke out on the island of [Kornat](/wiki/Kornat "Kornat"), part of the [Kornati National park](/wiki/Kornati_National_Park "Kornati National Park"). A team of 23 firemen was sent on an [Mi\-8](/wiki/Mil_Mi-8 "Mil Mi-8") helicopter on what they thought would be just a routine mission. Upon arrival, they split into two teams, one with six firemen and the other with 17\. The latter split up one more time when three firemen lost their communication gear, and again when the fourth one went checking for the signal while trying to call his superiors. The remaining 13 were stranded between two hills with no water whatsoever, since the large water canister landed 500 meters away from them. While searching for it, they got encircled by a wall of fire. Although the burning grass was only 10 cm tall, the firemen did not have the necessary equipment and had nowhere to run. In only a minute, six of them were killed instantly, while the other seven remained lying on the ground, badly burned, waiting for help for more than two hours. After the rescue, they were sent to the hospital in [Zadar](/wiki/Zadar "Zadar") and then transferred to hospitals in [Zagreb](/wiki/Zagreb "Zagreb") and [Split](/wiki/Split%2C_Croatia "Split, Croatia"). Six of them died due to serious [burns](/wiki/Burn "Burn") covering large areas of their bodies. The fire itself had nowhere to spread, and was soon naturally extinguished, bringing up many questions about the necessity of the intervention. Allegedly, the firemen were killed by an unexploded [CBU\-87](/wiki/CBU-87 "CBU-87") dumped over Kornat by [NATO](/wiki/NATO "NATO") planes returning from the [Kosovo War](/wiki/Kosovo_War "Kosovo War") in 1999\.


Can you explain why the fire on Kornat island was not extinguished sooner?