HUMAN FACTOR CAUSES 90 PERCENT OF WILDFIRES

ISTOČNO SARAJEVO, AUGUST 18 /SRNA/ - Human activity is the cause of 90 percent of wildfires, acting director of the Republika Srpska Civil Protection Administration Boris Trninić told SRNA.

Trninić said there is reasonable suspicion that in one municipality in Herzegovina, fires broke out at five different locations within a 10-minute period, which is simply unbelievable.

"In Bijeljina, too, there is reasonable suspicion that something similar happened. It is simply unbelievable how such things happen and why anyone would do this, but that is a matter for other institutions," Trninić stressed.

He said that he is in daily contact with people on the ground who are fighting the fires and are highly experienced in such situations, and pointed out that there are cases of arson for reasons known only to those responsible, as well as unintentional fires.

Trninić said there are suspicions that some of the fires in Croatia were also deliberately started, citing a video that went viral online showing a man parking his vehicle and setting fire to low vegetation and grass.

"He does this at a time when we have had a month or a month and a half of temperatures ranging from 35 to 40 degrees Celsius, with no rainfall. It can practically be compared to gunpowder; it is that dry and catches fire so easily," Trninić said.

He also said that neither Serbia, a European powerhouse in civil protection and rescue, nor Croatia, nor even the wealthiest European countries such as Spain and France, can cope with large-scale wildfires.