Croatian music festival evacuated after huge forest fire breaks out

Croatian music festival evacuated after huge forest fire breaks out
/ MUP.hr
By bne IntelliNews July 16, 2019

Hundreds of people were evacuated from the Fresh Island music festival on Croatia’s Zrce Beach on the night of July 15 after a huge forest fire broke out. 

Police stepped in to escort buses of festival goers out of the area after the road to the nearest town, Novalja, was closed due to the fire. 

A July 16 statement from the Croatian interior ministry, issued at 1.15pm local time, said the fire was still active but no longer presents a threat to people or buildings. 

Later in the day, the festival organisers said the event had been cleared to continue. "GREAT NEWS! The emergency services have now cleared the fire, reopened the road and deemed the route and Zrce Beach to be safe. Shuttle buses are also running as scheduled from Novalja," the organisers tweeted on July 16. 

"We are therefore pleased to confirm that Fresh Island will continue as planned with no further disruptions, starting with Tim Westwood’s pool party at 4pm in Papaya."

The fire broke out a few weeks after a heatwave across Croatia and much of Europe in late June. Forest fires are expected to become more frequent in Croatia and other Mediterranean countries as global temperatures increase.

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