With superhuman efforts they keep the fire away from the houses. “Every hand helps”

A fire broke out Thursday afternoon near Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Firefighters and volunteer fire brigades were dispatched to the scene. Additional forces were deployed in the area as a precaution to prevent the fire from spreading in the unfavourable, inaccessible terrain.

Firefighters said the fire was briefly contained Friday morning, but a sudden change in wind direction caused it to flare up again. The website hercegovina.info reported that crews were “making superhuman efforts” to keep the flames away from buildings.

For several days, another fire has been spreading near the central city of Żepcze. On Thursday night, the flames approached houses in the village of Żeljezno Polje, and residents of the surrounding area were called in to help extinguish the fire.

“Any help, whether it is physical assistance on the ground or providing food and water to the teams, is crucial,” the local government said in a statement. “The situation is serious, a quick response and a joint effort can be crucial to saving lives and property. At this crucial moment, every hand helps,” it said.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the countries in the region that have been struggling with forest fires in recent weeks due to exceptionally high temperatures and the carelessness of residents. Several fires covering hundreds of hectares of land have broken out in Croatia, North Macedonia and Albania.