Language Selection

Get healthy now with MedBeds!
Click here to book your session

Protect your whole family with Orgo-Life® Quantum MedBed Energy Technology® devices.

Advertising by Adpathway

One dead, dozens injured and thousands evacuated in Croatian wildfires – as it happened

3 weeks ago 24

PROTECT YOUR DNA WITH QUANTUM TECHNOLOGY

Orgo-Life the new way to the future

Advertising by Adpathway

42 people injured in Omiš wildfire in Croatia

The latest update from Croatia says the number of people injured in last night’s violent wildfire in the Lokva Rogoznica and Omiš area has gone up to 42 (10:19, 11:25, 11:47, 13:15).

Beachgoers look at the firefighting airplanes scooping water from the Adriatic Sea during a wildfire near Omis, southern Croatia.

Seven people are still in life-threatening condition, and four of them have been transferred to specialist hospitals in the Croatian capital, Zagreb.

Key events

Closing summary

Jakub Krupa

And, on that note, we will be closing the blog for today.

At least one person died and 42 were injured in major wildfire near Lokva Rogoznica and Omiš on the Croatian coast (10:19, 11:25, 11:47, 13:15, 15:48, 16:58).

Around 1,000 people have been evacuated after wildfire in Omiš, Croatia

14 people were hospitalised, and seven remain in life-threatening condition, including four transported to specialist hospitals in Zagreb.
Over 1,000 people were evacuated, including many tourists, with reports that Czech and Hungarian citizens were among those affected by the fire (11:25, 15:57).
Croatian prime minister Andrej Plenković said it was “one of the worst fires in recent years,” as he hailed firefighters for their efforts to stop the blaze (11:47).
Significant wildfires were also reported in England (9:39, 12:38, 13:54, 14:36), France (15:08), Germany (10:09), and Greece, among others.

If you have any tips, comments or suggestions, email me at [email protected].

I am also on Bluesky at @jakubkrupa.bsky.social and on X at @jakubkrupa.

One person dead after body found in affected area

One person was confirmed dead in the Croatian fires last night, after firefighters discovered a body in the area affected by the blaze, local media reported.

As per earlier reports, seven people are in life-threatening condition in hospital.

Croatian firefighters battle to fully extinguish Omiš wildfire - in pictures

Firefighters rest next to a burnt-out house following wildfire in Mala Luka, Croatia.

A firefighter sprays water on a burnt house following wildfire in Stanići, Croatia.

Burnt vehicles following wildfire in Stanići, Croatia.

EU's climate service warns of 'very extreme' conditions in CEE, Britain, France, Ireland

The European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service warned of “very extreme” conditions across a large area of central and eastern Europe, with additional pockets over southern Britain, Ireland, northern France and southern Sweden, in its outlook for the week to 19 August.

Local kids and goats walk on the dried-out riverbed of Danube in Rasova village, Romania.

The average high across western Europe ‌on Friday was forecast to be 31.2C, which is 8C above what was typical from 1961 to 1990, data from the Reuters Climate Monitor showed.

The temperature for Europe as a whole was 1.6C above the 1961-1990 average, it said.

In total, some 1,200 people were evacuated from Lokva Rogoznica and Omiš, authorities said.

Among them was also a group of over Hungarian tourists, the country’s foreign ministry said. Four Hungarians were injured, and two required hospitalisation, Jurtanji List reported.

42 people injured in Omiš wildfire in Croatia

The latest update from Croatia says the number of people injured in last night’s violent wildfire in the Lokva Rogoznica and Omiš area has gone up to 42 (10:19, 11:25, 11:47, 13:15).

Seven people are still in life-threatening condition, and four of them have been transferred to specialist hospitals in the Croatian capital, Zagreb.

Prolonged extreme temperatures means Britain is 'a tinderbox,' PM Burnham warns going into the weekend

Speaking to reporters in Stourbridge, prime minister Andy Burnham warned the country was a “tinderbox,” as he urged people to behave responsibly over the weekend.

Prime minister Andy Burnham leaves the West Midlands Fire Service incident command unit during a visit to Stourbridge in the West Midlands to discuss the response to wildfires across the region.

He told reporters:

“Britain is a tinderbox right now, and please just have that in your mind.

We’re going to go into the rest of the weekend… This is not over by any means. We’ve got 37 fires smouldering around the country, so it could be more. So please bear that in mind at all times.”

Burnham also spoke about the adaptations required given ongoing climate crisis, saying Britain will need to “react accordingly.”

“So I will convene at the end of the summer, a summit with fire and rescue services to make sure they are properly resourced going forwards.

We’ve lost firefighters in recent years. I know it as a former mayor, from a very grassroots level, some of the pressures on our fire and rescue services.

I can’t say today that we’ve done enough to fully resource them to deal with these type of incidents, and I want our firefighters to know that I understand how it seems from their point of view, and I’m going to convene that summit to make sure we get in place the right and support, including the aerial support, permanently if that is what they deem is needed.

Obviously, there’s other adjustments that we need to make in relation to climate change. We might be in for a wet autumn and winter straight after this, because of El Niño and some of the issues there, which were reported to Cobra. So, after fire could come floods.”

Burnham also said that military personnel will be sent to “support” firefighting services given the growing number of incidents across the country.

““We have a system of mutual aid in play at the moment, where fire and rescue services are supporting each other, but with so many incidents, it is crucial that the military support is there if fire and rescue services can’t do the same backup that they would normally be doing. So that is hugely appreciated,” he said.

UK issues a temporary ban on disposable barbecues due to wildfires risk

Meanwhile, the UK government has issued a temporary ban on the sale of disposable barbecues as they pose a “significant risk to the public” due to the heatwave conditions, PA reported.

The remains of a disposable barbeque left by reckless people next to the Jubilee River in Dorney, Buckinghamshire.

The new advice published on the Government’s website states:

“During the current drought and heatwave conditions, the government considers that the supply and subsequent foreseeable use of disposable barbecues poses a significant risk to the public, and the environment, and therefore cannot be considered a safe product.

They should not be made available for supply either in store or online at the current time.

These guidelines will be kept under review, and will be withdrawn in consultation with relevant departments and agencies, as weather conditions change sufficiently to significantly reduce the risks.”

Almost 500 arrested on suspicion of starting wildfires in France this summer

Jon Henley

Europe correspondent

Almost 500 people have been arrested on suspicion of starting wildfires in France since the start of the summer, authorities have said, as firefighters in half a dozen European countries tackle ferocious blazes amid a record-breaking heatwave.

A firefighter with the French Air Force looks on as a wildfire rages through the Landes forest in Luglon, southwestern France.

With three out of five Europeans facing temperatures of at least 30C on Friday and about 150 million enduring 35C or more, France’s interior ministry said 474 people, including 183 minors, had been detained over wildfires in the country since 1 July.

About 70% of those arrested were suspected of deliberately starting fires and the rest of doing so accidentally, it said. French media said a 15-year-old boy had been detained in connection with a fire near Bordeaux airport that killed two firefighters in July.

Wildfires in Britain hit record levels after homes burn in intense heat

Wildfires in England and Wales have hit a record level, fire chiefs said on Friday, warning that rescue services ⁠were battling to keep ⁠up with rising risks a day after fires raced from tinder-dry fields to engulf houses on the hottest day of the year.

Britain has not faced anything like the devastation wrought across Spain, ⁠France and elsewhere in Europe this year, but as it endures its fifth heatwave of what is expected to be its hottest ever summer, it is dealing with more outbreaks of fire than ⁠ever before.

Phil Garrigan, chair of the National Fire Chiefs Council, told Reuters the number of wildfires had now exceeded last year’s total of 1,017.

“We’ve well surpassed the figures from ‌the previous high of 2025,” Garrigan ‌said, without detailing this year’s latest figure.

“We’re only in the middle of August, and the wildfire season seems to extend ‌way into November at this moment in time. So, we’re anticipating this being not just a record-breaking year, but a considerable increase on the number of wildfires previously experienced.”

Six firefighters hospitalised from smoke inhalation in West Midlands fires

Six firefighters have been taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation and heat exhaustion after battling the wildfires in the West Midlands, Staffordshire Fire Service said.

Glynn Luznyj, chief fire officer for the service, said:

Crews have been working tirelessly through the night and thankfully the Goldenhill, Parkhall, Tamworth and Cannock Chase fires are now under control.

It has been great to see people coming together to support each other. Crews have been provided with free food and refreshments and we’ve seen that people are coming forward to provide spare furniture and goods to those who have lost them to fires.

We’re working extremely hard to keep everyone safe, but we really need people to do their part to prevent these fires from happening in the first place.

The Met Office, the official weather agency, confirmed that 38.1C (100.6 F) was recorded in west London on Thursday, marking the hottest day of the year.

While temperatures cooled slightly on Friday, many parts of the country have seen little to no rain for weeks. This July has been the driest in England and Wales since records began in 1836.

West Midlands fire was like 'an inferno', witnesses say

We are getting some witness accounts of the fire in West Midlands, via PA news agency.

A drone view of burnt-out houses following a large grass fire which spread to several homes yesterday during the hottest day of the year, in Stourbridge, West Midlands.

Andrew Reynolds, 42, told the Press Association:

“My mum’s lost everything. Absolutely everything. There’s nothing saveable.”

He described the scene on Thursday night as an “inferno” which destroyed the house his mother has lived in for 34 years.

Andrew Reynolds, 42, standing in front of his mother's house which was damaged by a fire in Gorleston Road, Highers Heath, in the West Midlands.

Mr Reynolds said all his grandmother’s possessions were in the loft and will have been destroyed in the fire.

He said:

“(It was) stuff that she treasured that was going to be left to me.

No monetary value in it whatsoever, just the fact it was my nan’s and my nan was my whole world.

It’s all gone, including 100 years’ worth of photos from the family.”

He said the fire quickly “ripped through” the houses.

Tony Aldhouse, 62, who also lives on the street, said his garden looks like a “bomb had hit it”.

The fire service said there was a full evacuation of around 50 residents at the blaze at Gorleston Road, where a number of terraced houses have been damaged by the fire.

Meanwhile, French firefighters are still tackling a blaze in the Landes region, with more than 500 people evacuated as a precaution.

A firefighter hoses down the charred ground as flames continue to burn in the Landes forest in Luglon, southwestern France.

Firefighters’ silhouettes are seen through thick smoke as a wildfire rages through the Landes forest in Luglon, southwestern France.

French media are reporting that the emergency response saw the first deployment of a new water-bombing helicopter Chinook CH-47D, on loan from Australia, which is capable of carrying twice as much water as a Canadair aircraft.

The machine can drop 11,300 litres of water, and refill within 90 seconds, it said, helping in effective response to any new wildfires.

An Australian New South Wales Rural Fire Service (RFS) CH-47D Chinook water-bombing helicopter flies above the forest of Luglon during a wildfire, south-western France.

Major fire in Croatian seaside town of Omiš leaves at least 36 injured - in pictures

We are getting some more pictures showing the dramatic scenes last night during a major wildfire near Omiš in Croatia (10:19, 11:25, 11:47).

A large fire broke out last night in Lokva Rogoznica and spread to the area above Omiš, Split.

A large fire broke out last night in Lokva Rogoznica and spread to the area above Omiš.

And here is the scene this afternoon:

Burnt houses after a wildfire near the town Omiš, some 30 kilometres south of Split, Croatia.

54 patients treated by paramedics with 19 hospitalised after West Midlands wildfires

We just got an update from the West Midlands ambulance service.

A total of 54 patients have been treated by paramedics – including 19 who were taken to hospital – as a result of wildfires in the region, PA reported.

The burnt out remains of houses in the Quarry Park Road area of Stourbridge, West Midlands following a huge blaze.

Sicily's Catania airport remains closed until Saturday due to Mount Etna's volcanic activity

Meanwhile, flights at Catania airport in Sicily will remain suspended until early Saturday because ⁠of ash from Mount Etna’s ⁠ongoing volcanic activity, which has forced hundreds of flights to be cancelled or rerouted over the past week, Reuters reported.

A view of an information board inside the terminal at Vincenzo Bellini Catania Airport following the closure of the airport due to an ash cloud from Sicily’s Mount Etna eruption in Catania, Italy.

All arrivals at the island hub, Italy’s fifth-busiest airport by passenger traffic, will be suspended through 2am local time on 15 August, airport operator SAC said in a statement.

The current disruption is the most severe to affect Catania airport in at least two decades, according to SAC sources quoted by Italian news agency ANSA.

Some 630 flights were diverted to other airports, and more than a third of the 1,974 flights scheduled at Catania were cancelled.