A persistent wildfire that has been burning for several weeks in Serbia’s Deliblatska Peščara forest reserve has forced authorities to order evacuations from a nearby hamlet. The blaze, which began in early August, has consumed large sections of the reserve located approximately 60 kilometres east of Belgrade.
On Thursday, as national temperatures soared to 39C, strong winds pushed the flames toward residential areas, prompting the evacuation of a small community on the edge of the forest. Interior Minister Ivica Dačić described the situation as difficult, though he confirmed that there have been no reports of property damage thus far.
To combat the fire, Serbia requested international assistance, resulting in the arrival of a Russian Ilyushin waterbombing aircraft late Wednesday. The aircraft, which has a 42,000-litre capacity, conducted multiple water drops on Thursday afternoon while local residents watched. Despite these efforts, Dačić maintained that the fire remains dangerous due to the combination of extreme heat, difficult terrain, and sandy soil, noting that the severity of the conditions is often underestimated.
The incident occurs as the wider Balkan region faces a return of sweltering heatwave conditions, triggering numerous wildfires across the territory. Authorities have issued warnings for extreme weather as Europe continues to struggle with a summer defined by historically high temperatures and dry conditions. Scientists have linked these increasingly frequent and intense heatwaves to human-caused climate change, noting that such conditions have already contributed to thousands of deaths across the continent this season.
