Rain that began falling overnight has brought relief and is saving Blidinje Nature Park by extinguishing a massive forest fire on Mount Čvrsnica that had been burning for a full 13 days.
According to the Civil Protection Administration of West Herzegovina Canton, the rain started around 1:00 AM and is continuing to fall, allowing the numerous members of professional and volunteer firefighting units to finally catch their breath.
The Administration noted that firefighting forces from the canton had been actively and ceaselessly engaged in battling this huge blaze across inaccessible terrain over the past five days.
Earlier this morning, the situation remained uncertain. Due to dense fog and smoke at the fire site, the Civil Protection Operations Center of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton could not confirm with certainty whether the fire was still active – until it was confirmed that the rain was resolving the issue.
Throughout the day yesterday, members of the Professional Firefighting Unit (PVJ) and the Volunteer Firefighting Society (DVD) of Jablanica worked to extinguish the fire at a location above the ski slope – at an altitude of 1,850 meters – until late into the evening.
Firefighting efforts were constantly hampered by strong winds and extremely inaccessible terrain, creating a persistent threat of the fire spreading.
