"There are currently 12 active in Serbia fire"but the situation at most of the fire sites is stable, Luka Čaušić, head of the Department for Emergency Situations, told RTS.
As he said, for the first time since the outbreak of the fire, the satellite images do not show it active hotspots in Deliblatska peščara, where intensive activities are still carried out. The situation will also be monitored with the help of drones, while crews will remain on standby due to the strong winds expected over the weekend.
Čaušić warned that wind gusts in the area could reach 90 kilometers per hour, which would make extinguishing even more difficult and could lead to a rekindling of the fire.
"Wind is the greatest enemy and we must be extremely careful," said Čaušić.
It is more stable in Goč and Stolovi near Kraljevo. There is still an active line of about one to two kilometers in length at both fire sites, but the situation is much more favorable than in previous days.
In Leban, in the vicinity of the village of Slišane, the authorities expect that, if there are no sudden changes in weather conditions, the localization of the fire could be announced during the day.
According to Čaušić, the situation in the area of Vranje is also stable, where the priority is to protect people, residential buildings and the forest fund.
Special attention is still focused on the Deliblat sandstone due to the specificity of the terrain and the large amount of fuel material. Čaušić says that, if the fires remain under control and there are no major outbreaks during the coming weekend, we could talk about the end of the intervention.
The cause of the fire in Deliblatska peščara has not yet been determined
The cause of the fire in Deliblatska peščara is not yet known, and the investigation is ongoing.
Čaušić said that the Police Administration in Pancevo immediately involved the competent prosecution and that the investigation will be carried out as soon as the conditions are created.
According to him, the videos show how quickly the fire spread, since in just one day the fire engulfed between 200 and 300 hectares in the central part of Deliblatska peščara.
Due to the inaccessible terrain, the firefighters could not directly approach the place where the fire broke out, so other tactical measures had to be applied.
"Even the artificial intelligence models suggested what we knew tactically, that we make fire sections and that we should hold the fire there. However, due to the wind and the huge amount of fuel material, those sections were moved and we literally fought for every house," Čaušić told RTS.
More than 8.800 people have been engaged since the beginning of the intervention in the Deliblat Sandstone. In addition to firefighters-rescuers and members of the Helicopter Unit, volunteer fire brigades, the Serbian Army, "Vojvodinašume", the local headquarters for emergency situations, private companies and the Serbian-Russian Humanitarian Center are participating in the action.
Firefighters from Germany, Romania and Hungary, as well as the crew of the Russian plane "Ilyushin", are also helping to put out fires throughout Serbia.
Čaušić stated that since the beginning of August, 3.560 fires have been registered in open spaces in Serbia. Most of them were quickly localized and extinguished, while the biggest problems were the fires on Stolovi and in Deliblatska peščara.
The fire near Lukovo is still active in Vranje
In the area of Vranje, there is still an active fire in the village of Lukovo, where the fire spread towards Barelić during the previous day. The fire also engulfed the area of the village of Srednji Del, but for now there are no threatened residential buildings.
The fire in Lukovo broke out on Sunday afternoon, while the fire that broke out on Tuesday in the village of Milivojce was extinguished in the meantime.
In the area of the municipality of Kovin, where the part of Deliblatska peščara affected by the fire is located, the situation is currently calm and stable. There are no new hotspots or reactivation of previously extinguished parts, while crews continuously monitor the fire.
In the area of Dubovac, Šumark and Slatina, there is no immediate danger to populated areas and houses.
The fire on Mount Stolovi, on top of Čiker, has not yet been localized, but the situation is much better than in previous days, said Nedeljko Gagić, head of the Directorate for Fire and Rescue Units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Serbia.
Speaking about prevention, Čaušić assessed that the penal policy for setting fires in the open should be tightened. As he stated, changes to the Law on Misdemeanors and the Law on Fire Protection are necessary, with significantly higher fines.
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