2024-07-19 09:03:02
A fire that broke out in Slovenia’s karst region on Thursday and engulfed regarding 150 hectares of forest in the Tersteli Mountains in western Slovenia was brought under control overnight, Slovenian media reported on Friday. About 400 firefighters were on duty overnight, and two firefighting aircraft and helicopters were used to put out the fire during the day.
“We have surrounded the fire and the situation is under control. The fire has not been extinguished and is still smoldering in some areas, but there are currently no open flames,” fire service chief Boris Peternelj told the STA news agency on Friday morning. According to his estimate, the fire is still smoldering and covers an area of regarding 100 hectares.
Emergency services hope to have the blaze completely extinguished by Friday. That depends largely on wind strength, which made fighting the fires more difficult on Thursday. The winds died down overnight but are expected to pick up once more during the day, according to forecasts. Reliefs are expected on Saturday, with rain also expected in affected areas of the country.
Emergency services will also receive air support on Friday. A new aerial tractor-firefighting aircraft was put into service for the first time on Thursday. After devastating forest fires in the karst region two years ago, Slovenia purchased four firefighting aircraft last year, two of which are already in service.
The fire broke out on Thursday morning on the Trstelj mountain, regarding 10 kilometers southeast of the border town of Nova Gorica. The heavily forested plateau has received little rain in recent months, with a two-week heat wave exacerbating the drought, the National Weather Service said. The fire occurred near the site of the largest forest fire in Slovenia’s history in July 2022, which destroyed 3,700 hectares of forest.
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