Norwegians affected by forest fires around the Med

smoke rises forest firesPeople sit on the beach as black smoke rises from wildfires at the nearby Castelfusano pine forest, near Rome, Italy, Monday, July 17, 2017. Wildfires have been ravaging swaths of Italy, mostly in the south, where the Coldiretti agricultural lobby says July rain levels were down 83 percent while temperatures were around 3 degrees Celsius higher. (Massimo Percossi/ANSA via AP)

Norwegian tourists affected by forest fires around the Mediterranean Sea

Several major forest fires are ravaging along the Mediterranean Sea and have caused concern among Norwegians on holiday. Norwegian tour operators monitor the situation carefully.

 

Hundreds of tourists are evacuated in Croatia, Montenegro and Sicily. In addition, there are fires near Nice in France. Several of these areas have had very little rain and higher summer temperatures than usual for the season.

Tone Kolstad from Trondheim and her family experienced the fire a little too closely in Zrnovnica outside Split.

“When it came so close that we felt the heat, I did not feel safe. It was a nasty feeling. Those who lived there ran with water hoses around the houses. Then I thought, ” I will not stay here anymore,” says Kolstad to Adresseavisen.

The group of four chose on Monday to leave the apartment they had rented. Until now, they have been staying in a hotel in the center of Split.

Croatian authorities state that 80 people have been slightly injured in the fires around Split. Firefighters have been working through the night , and in several places residents have helped with defending buildings against the flames and preventing spreading. On Tuesday morning, the mayor of the port city said that “the worst is over”.

Travel operators monitor closely

Norwegian travel operators follow the situation carefully. NTB has talked with Apollo, Ving and Tui, who all report that they are in control of their travellers.

– We have one hotel in Split. This is far from the area where it is burning, so it has not affected our guests. There are also reports of fires in Sicily, but it is on the other side of the island , far from our guests. We have not received any reports that the fires in Montenegro affect our guests either, says press spokesman Nikolai Johnsen in Tui.

Ving’s tourists are also not affected by the fires in Split.

– We do not have any hotels in the area where it is burning. Most of our customers are out on the islands. We have sent out SMS and informed about the fire and keep them updated about the situation, “says Christian Grønli, CEO of Ving.

Apollo currently has 135 travelers in Podstrana near Split.

– The last message is that the fire is moving away from all the areas where we have guests. SMS has been sent to all guests with updated info, “said Christina Hafnor, Press Contact, in Apollo.

 

 

© NTB Scanpix / Norway Today