Total Croatia News Large fires broke out on multiple locations in Dalmatia yesterday Firemen are currently battling blazes in multiple Split neighbourhoods 10:40 –  “I want to thank the firefighters and members of Torcida,” said PM Plenkovic at the beginning of the meeting addressing Crisis Staff in Split.  09:45 – Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia consisting of the 93rd Air Force Base of the Croatian Air Force and the barracks “Colonel Mirko Vukušić” from Zemunika were battling the fires in Split from 6 am this morning  Two Canadair CL-415 and two Airtractor AT-802 were sent out as a priority to put out the fires in the most affected areas Mayor of Podstrana: Currently the fire is under control but it will probably take the whole day to put the fire out 09:24 – Split is protected and all suburbs were saved. The superhuman efforts of the firefighters locals and Torcida extinguished the fire in record time to save the homes in Strožanac PM Plenković arrived in Split whose assistance remains to be seen 09:15 – The fire that raged on Monday from Omiš to Split injured 80 people according to information from the director of Medical Emergencies in the County 09:03 – The situation is much better than yesterday the entire western part and part of the eastern area will be contained This information was announced at a meeting of the Civic Guard of Split Firefighters have enough assistance and help has arrived from all over the country There are members of the army and HGSS involved so there is no need to engage citizens 08:55 – At the center open at the Spaladium Arena 08:50 – It is almost impossible to order any kind of taxi transport in Split this morning 08:30 – Prime Minister Plenković arrives in Split and will soon hold a meeting with Crisis Staff the director of the State Protection and Rescue Administration said: ”If the wind picks back up we will have a big problem.” a day and night of work is ahead of us to preserve this area,” reported N1 Strožanac and Split has a total of 21 firefighters and 384 people putting out the fires Hina reports from Split’s Fire and Rescue Center soldiers and citizens fighting the blaze in Split and the surrounding areas who have been fighting tirelessly throughout the night as well as many commercial buildings and cars Part of the population had to leave their homes that were in danger of the fire and accommodation was provided by the many people of Split who received them in their homes The sky over Split is still grey and unobtrusive Ash is flying in the air and it is hard to breathe Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic will arrive in Split to hold a working meeting with the Minister of Defense Damir Krsticevic and Interior Minister Davor Božinović President Kolinda Grabar Kitarović announced her arrival in Split and will shorten her visit to Salzburg due to the fires of Dalmatia “Most of the forces are here and last night we had to fight to protect the homes and now the fire moves further away and no more homes are threatened it seems to us that it will be favorable this morning and as soon as the Canadairs can take off,  they will but nothing is compromised in regards to the facilities and people It is currently the most critical on the south side of the Perun and Strožanac hills.”  The Solin-Klis (DC1) highway in both directions; County road Tromilla – Šibenik (ŽC3277); County road Žrnovnica – Srinjine (ŽC6142)  County road Mravinci – Žrnovnica (ŽC6270) The county road Konjevrate-Unešić (ŽC6092) has one lane open 5:10 It has been estimated that about 4,500 hectares have been burnt so far It seems like this will go on for days,” said one firefighter to Hina.  4:44 The firefighters in Podstrana and Strožanac will have a sleepless night 4:20 It seems like the fire is calming down the whole of Podstrana will not sleep. Some are out fighting the fire many are in front of their homes watching the development of the fire in fear on the hill above them Torcida’s support for Podstrana came in large numbers There was a group in front of a house where the flames were just one hundred meters away They literally wanted to fight the fire.  The homes were sheltered by firefighters from Rijeka. It was very tense. It all depended on whether the wind would force the fire back to the homes Firefighters drifted through the thick pine woods with water and the fire spread from the west to the east The hopes were that the wind would not intensify and that the Canadairs would finally bring this to an end.  3:40 Firefighters managed to protect one of the endangered houses.  3:37 They are defending houses that are nearest to the burning woods 3:35 The fire continues to burn in the Strožanac area firefighters have been very busy all night 3:30 Firefighters have not put out the forest fires 3:27 A reporter from Radio Split explained that there was a lot of deterioration: but then the wind sharpened and the fiery line began to carry the way to Podstrana Firefighters protected all of the houses on the way to Žrnovnica as much as they could but then the road to the second part of Strožanac and Podstrana started to wear 3:18 The fire continues to scorch everything in sight 3:11 A reporter from Radio Split reports from Podstrana that the wind has strengthened and the situation does not look good armed with all the living resources they have to fight it,” said the reporter the flames are rising around 15 meters into the air 250 firefighters and 50 fire trucks arrived at the Split area to help the overwhelmed firefighters in the field hundreds of people are out there trying to help 02:15 Firefighters with superhuman efforts saved houses in Strožanac 01:39 Several houses in Strožanac, the area closer to Žrnovnica, are surrounded by fire, reports Slobodna Dalmacija.  01:30 All fires in Split have been successfully put out. In Strožanac people are not in danger and the houses have been defended 01:10 Strožanac and Podstrana are currently being evacuated.The wind is changing direction The eastern leg of the fire came near the houses The other leg of the fire is spreading towards Žrnovnica Firefighters from Zagreb arrived to help out Kučina and part of Kila are still without water supply which is expected to be restored within several hours.  00:30 Red Cross staff has prepared beds for some 250 people inside Spaladium Arena in case of evacuation 00:00 Most of the fires in the wider Split area are now under control Firefighters are still struggling to bring the blaze under control in Dubrava The fire which broke out at the old barracks in Dračevac and came close to few houses in Bilice has also been put under control The south side of the hill above Strožanac is currently burning slowly coming close to Strožanac and Podstrana Citizens are warned not to go near petrol stations on the roads near the affected areas.  23:00 Residents of Split are advised to avoid driving and leaving their houses and to use as little running water as they can After the initiative of Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandić, the Volunteer Fire Departments from Zagreb announced that 50 fire trucks and 250 firemen are being sent to Split to help battle the blaze. They are expected to arrive to the most critical sites before dawn, reports Novi list Krk island and Opatija are sending 16 firefighters to Žrnovnica The situation in Karepovac neighbourhood is under control while Mejaši and Kila were successfully defended from fire that was redirected in order to save the populated areas 21:00 City Center One and Mall of Split have been evacuated after the smoke started to fill the buildings, coming in through the air vents, reports Slobodna Dalmacija Ninčevići and Rupotina are left without electricity same as the Split neighbourhoods of Brda and Ravne Njive There is no running water in Solin as well Canadairs are flying back to base due to low visibility 20:30 City Center One in Split has been closed down Fire came up to a 50-metre distance from the gas station Lukoil near Solin Readers are calling in to report they’re seeing flashes and hearing explosions 19:10 Radio Dalmacija reported that seven separate blazes merged into a single multiple elders have been taken to safety by the police and the rescue service (GSS) north and east sides of Žrnovnica are set ablaze and the northern leg of the fire is spreading towards Kučine and Mravinci 400 firemen and 100 trucks are currently on site People are calling the media, crying in panic and asking for help.  A Facebook group has been opened where people are offering their homes to those in need. If you live in the wider Split area and can put someone up for the night, click here and offer accommodation.  18:50 The residents of Privor village are running away to safety People are helping each other to escape the inferno but there are some older residents who don’t want to leave their homes The fire is spreading in a speed of 1 metre per minute 18:30 Residents of Žrnovnica confirmed the fire has reached their village but literally can’t see anything from all the smoke said a local who decided to leave her home after a whole day of fighting the blaze power was shut down in the whole of Žrnovnica The flames are getting closer to the local Fire Department’s seat Minister Krstičević announced the arrival of the army Locals have commented on the rocket base having good fire safety measures and being isolated in order to be protected from fire there’s another hazard on the horizon Siniša Marin from the local council said it’ll be a problem if the fire spreads towards Korešnica the location of another army base with an access road dotted with landmines 17:45 Residents of Žrnovnica have been coming to the local Volunteer Fire Deparment asking to be given equipment so they can help fight the blaze “My house is on fire and I can’t put it out I make my living by training people in fire suppression all around the world but the firemen have to turn them all away as they just don’t have any more equipment to give out More forces on the ground are desperately needed 17:30 Minister Krstičević confirmed the rocket base in Žrnovnica is surrounded by fire He also confirmed the army forces have been dispatched to Split 17:03 Ten army trucks departed for the most critical sites to help the firemen and the locals Due to heavy traffic which our server is struggling to cope with, we had to break down the updates into multiple articles. Please click here for earlier events.  and website in this browser for the next time I comment Categories Recent events Numerous waterspouts were reported along the Croatian coast of the Adriatic sea on Sunday, August 26 as cold air overspread the region in the wake of the intense cold front A particularly large waterspout formed near Split The waterspout was recorded very close to the coast of the Adriatic sea near Split The waterspout formed near Grljevac and made landfall near Podstrana Photo: Ruža Žilić Ivanišević / Crometeo.hr Late summer and autumn is waterspout season in Croatia: the Adriatic sea remains very warm while increasingly deep troughs and cutoff lows bring conditions favourable for waterspout formation for both mesocyclonic and non-mesocyclonic waterspouts Check out some of the best waterspouts recorded in Croatia Intense cold front over the Adriatic region this weekend: reports Severe thunderstorms expected over northern southern and western France today – August 28 RSS Feed Any time.” © Severe Weather Europe 2023 This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page A couple of weeks ago I wrote a reflection as a result of the two years since I arrived in Croatia not only did I want to share several anecdotes about that time but I felt encouraged to list ten reasons why I believed that it could be easy for someone to adapt their lives here in Croatia based on my own experience. If I could be able to summarize that article in a few words I think I could do so by saying that Croatia is a country that successfully manages to harmoniously combine heritage It is a country where you can walk the elegant streets of Ilica in Zagreb or Marmontova in Split as well as visit the fields of Slavonia or the vineyards of Istria and not feel any kind of barriers or class gaps There are many ways to prove to yourself that you have managed to adapt effectively to a new country: learning the language But I feel that I personally cannot feel fully integrated in Croatia if I do not follow closely the activities and traditions that its people have carried out for hundreds of years. The great thing about Croatia is that there is a peaceful coexistence between these traditions and their respective industries (and in some cases many of these traditional activities are being displaced by large industries it is not my intention to delve into a very complex topic that may require me to know about topics that I still need to learn more about What I want to say is that in Croatia I find it very difficult for an activity inherited by generations to be interrupted by a dominance of the industrial sector but rather that people can continue making their rakija with an authentic feeling of belonging and feeling fairly rewarded for their effort, as people here value highly their local and home-made products has always been one of the cornerstones in our kitchen at home where my parents have always done wonders with its help that in Croatia it was equal or even more important in their diet than in ours It took us little time to recognize the high quality of Croatian olive oil I was sad that after two years in Croatia and consuming its world-renowned olive oil I felt so distant from the enormous process behind its production I knew absolutely nothing about how olive oil is made I find myself surrounded by small fields of cultivation of apples I have noticed different people who come to take care of their crops It was in October-November of 2020 that I saw people pick olives for the first time and that’s when I discovered that it was in fact the season I felt like I had missed a huge opportunity (laziness and shyness won me over not gonna lie) to get closer and learn more about olive picking I decided that in the following season I would learn more about this tradition I patiently waited this year for October to arrive and a few days ago I saw that they were picking olives in the distance I took my camera and walked over to where they were It was there that I met one of the kindest families from Podstrana I had never felt so well received by strangers and they did not hesitate for a second to allow me to accompany them and document their work since at some point I overthought that they would feel invaded by my presence both on their property and in a time where they can share their privacy in a traditional family activity. But they didn’t bother and I think they were not only impressed and glad to hear me speak Croatian but they may have been happy to see someone genuinely interested in learning more about olive picking dedicated almost three hours to telling me everything about his olive trees and olive oil while he collected olives along with his wife and son Jozo and his son Ivo educated me on the technique used to carefully extract olives from the trees using a small plastic rake to ”brush” the branches full of olives as well as the high quality of these olives for the subsequent oil production process that would come later as it felt like a summer day infiltrated in the fall with a radiant sun that did not burn your skin the shadow of a twenty-year-old olive tree protected us All you could hear was Jozo’s endless but nourishing olive lessons as well as these constantly falling like rain from the tree over the blue plastic carpet After three hours of a lot of learning and thousands of olives scattered on the ground it was time to go and it was time for the family to collect all the olives in bags It was a very fruitful afternoon for everyone as I returned home with much more knowledge about olive picking as well as numerous photos and videos and they returned home with almost 150 kilos of olives this particular year had been a very good one for his olive trees and the gentle climate was key for them to produce so many olives and it was there that I passed them the photos I had taken and a small short film that I will prepare about this particular experience of olive picking They also promised me a bottle of their olive oil It has been one of those (few) days and anecdotes in which I return home with a real smile and that reminds me of how right my decision to come to Croatia was and how close I am to being able to adapt to this beautiful country it is that I will not be able to die in peace without at least one olive tree in my future home Here are some pictures I took from this wonderful day of olive picking in Podstrana: When it comes to olive oil, Croatia is one of the leading countries in the industry. From Istria to Dalmatia, you can find all the information you need to know about the origins, processes, and where to buy Croatian olive oil on the Total Croatia page For more news like this, make sure to check out our dedicated lifestyle section Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon We help you navigate a myriad of possibilities Sign up for our newsletter for the best of the city By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions. Croatia facebooktwitterinstagramAbout us 2020 – As people look for escape from the mental stress brought on by the corona crisis a new series on TCN with local expats in isolation looking back at their top 10 Croatia experiences so far TCN owner Paul Bradbury from Manchester in Jelsa.  I have had a LOT of emails and messages asking if TCN could write about something happier than the constant corona updates but with so much (sadly bad) news to report and limited resources due to the crisis But then I thought of a nice series which might perhaps pique people’s interests and even unearth some hidden gems to explore at a later date.  Having done a very successful series with over 30 submissions from expats around the world on their self-isolation experiences in Croatia compared to what is happening in their home country and then following that with a series on Croats in the diaspora with their corona viewpoint of their country of residence compared to the Homeland perhaps a happier and more interesting series would be to look at expats here today and their top 10 experiences in Croatia so far.  We started in Split with Ionut Copiou from Romania.  another Romanian – Monique Ioanitescu If you would like to contribute to this series, contact us on news@total-croatia-news.com Subject Top 10.  Are you an expat in Croatia with a little time on your hands and some fabulous memories and experiences to share? If you would like to participate in this series, please contact us at news@total-croatia-news.com Subject Top 10 To see the other stories in this series, as well as expat self-isolation stories compared to their home countries, and corona voices in the diaspora, visit the dedicated section.  Daniela Rogulj On August 8, 1971, today’s luxury resort Le Meridien Lav opened its doors under the then (temporary) name Kairos in Podstrana near Split, reports HRTurizam and the United States were greeted by only one of the three hotel buildings planned within the hotel complex The media reported that “the hotel could not resist the onslaught of tourists and was forced to start work” because the guests themselves “gave up one hundred percent comfort when they saw what kind of environment the hotel is in.” It was then one of the largest hotels on the Adriatic and the most modern in the high B category and other recreational facilities, built by the Split company Lavčević Lav celebrates three birthdays on dates that That is why the current Le Meridien Lav resort will mark this great anniversary by connecting all these dates when part of the hotel complex was “opened under the onslaught of tourists,” important dates at the beginning of work include October 24 when the entire hotel complex was inaugurated on the 27th anniversary of the liberation of Split when the then hotel complex “Kairos” was renamed into the now legendary “Lav.” a series of events and activities will be organized from autumn 2021 to spring 2022 a multilingual monograph on this legendary hotel in Split will be published Hotel Le Meridien Lav has been owned since 2016 by the private Czech equity fund Odien Group “We have owned the Le Meridien Lav resort for only a few years but we are looking forward to this anniversary as if we were here from the beginning Lav has a rich heritage and special importance in the identity and collective memory of residents with whom we share the most beautiful memories of our hotel mark the first 50 years in a quality and interesting way with our business plans and investments in the last few years we have shown how important this resort and destination is to us and how we want Le Meridien Lav to continue to be the leading tourist brand on the Adriatic coast,” said Mike Saran on behalf of Odien Group does not hide his joy over this great anniversary: “I have been in Lav for almost a decade and I am sincerely looking forward to this anniversary because it reminds me of all the interesting and beautiful moments I experienced with employees guests and partners and the stories I have heard about Lav from past and present employees we are especially proud of the fact that Lav celebrated its 50th anniversary in a new guise with many new and improved which we strive to preserve the quality and values we have inherited daily.” Le Meridien Lav is a 5-star resort with a total of 378 accommodation units and 12 modern conference rooms in an area of 5000 square meters For more, make sure to check out our dedicated travel section We’ve been updating the coverage on the fires in Dalmatia yesterday and through the night here Now that there’s no immediate danger to Split anymore we bring you an overview of the current situation. You can see all the affected sites in the wider Split area on this map: All fires in Split have been successfully put out by 2 AM by the immense efforts of firemen and local volunteers but all affected neighbourhoods were saved by the quick reaction of the firefighting forces and everyone who came to help Podstrana and Strožanac are currently out of immediate danger The wind kept blowing and changing direction of the fire; people have been defending the first houses in the line of flames for hours As there was no available equipment for everyone present and everything else they could put their hands on Buckets of water were passed from hand to hand One Canadair departed for Strožanac and Podstrana from Zemunik at 6:15 this morning At 11:15, the fire in Srinjine was closing in on first houses and is currently at a 50m distance. The wind picked up again, changing direction constantly, reports Index Fires in Kučine and Mravinci are also still burning.By this moment underbrush and olive groves have burned down other buildings and vehicles suffered heavy damage Around 80 people have been slightly injured They all received medical attention on time and the investigation will be carried out after all the fires are put out The Solin-Klis (DC1) highway in both directionsCounty road Tromilla – Šibenik (ŽC3277)County road Žrnovnica – Srinjine (ŽC6142) County road Mravinci – Žrnovnica (ŽC6270)The county road Konjevrate-Unešić (ŽC6092) has one lane open Prime Minister Andrej Plenković arrived in Split before 9:00 He attended the meeting of the Crisis Staff minister Krstičević and the Mayor of Split making sure to first thank the firefighters DUZS and the residents who defended their houses and villages He also thanked the 4th Guard Brigade and Torcida stating the system was functioning very well the whole time “According to the information we got Thanks to the help of Canadairs and Airtractors the fire is now being localised and put out This is one of 14 fires that broke out in the Split-Dalmatia County in the last three days as well as more than 700 firemen and army members The firemen have given their absolute maximum Many have arrived from Zagreb and other counties There’s a solidarity of fire departments that works on the state level I believe we’ll learn some lessons after this fire one that was interesting because it reached Split and that we’ll improve all the mechanisms of department coordination” He is currently visiting the affected sites Photo credit: Damira Kalajzic July 18 (Xinhua) -- A firefighting plane tries to extinguish a wildfire in the village of Podstrana in Croatia 2025INS Sharda Joins India-Maldives HADR Exercise 2025Delhi CM Rekha Gupta Leads Cleanliness Drive 2025Nirmala Sitharaman Interacts with Indian Diaspora in Milan 2025Nirmala Sitharaman Meets Bhutan Finance Minister 2025Training session ahead of the IPL match between MI and GT