WILDFIRE RAGES IN KAMENICA; AIR TRACTOR FROM MOSTAR EXPECTED

DRVAR, JULY 6 /SRNA/ - A wildfire has been raging for four days in the area of the village of Kamenica, near Drvar, and firefighting efforts have been hampered because the affected area is contaminated with landmines, which is why aerial firefighting assistance has been requested and is expected to arrive today, Drvar Mayor Dušica Runić told SRNA.

According to her, the fire is spreading by the hour, but fortunately it is moving away from homes and toward an uninhabited area along the border with the Una-Sana Canton. "Firefighters from the Drvar municipal Civil Protection Service and employees of the local forestry unit are on the ground, but they are powerless because the area is contaminated with landmines," Runić said. She added that assistance from the Armed Forces of BiH for aerial firefighting had been requested through the Civil Protection Administration of the Livno Canton, but the request was rejected because they could not "approve aerial firefighting over a mined area for safety reasons". "We have been assured that an Air Tractor aircraft will arrive from Mostar this morning and attempt to extinguish the fire," Runić said. She added that rain had been expected last night to help contain the blaze, but it never came.