Flames in Slovenia – “The smoke column resembled a mushroom cloud”

Just a few kilometers from Monfalcone is the Italian municipality of Doberdò del Lago. This is where Robert Devetta lives, who, like everyone affected, is scarred by the fires that raged in his immediate vicinity: “The situation here changes every hour! Yesterday morning the air was so full of smoke and ash particles that you could hardly breathe them. The situation eased in the morning, but only because the wind died down. The past few days have been bad! We are tired and exhausted,” said the 50-year-old general manager, who commutes daily across the border to Slovenia, where the seat of the fire has currently been relocated.

“I am afraid of my friends who are fighting for their homes like in Nova Vas. You can see flames shooting from Slovenian cities and on Friday there was a column of smoke in the sky that looked like a mushroom cloud.”

“Everywhere is fire”
Sandi Saksida in the Slovenian municipality of Renče at the foot of the Karst also experienced the horrors of a conflagration. Here is the friendly German teacher sitting in the house, “like all of us”, hoping that everything is clear: “No one goes out and the population in the neighboring villages had to be evacuated time and again in the past few days. That’s us until now have been spared, but there are fires everywhere and the wind is only making the situation worse. Many helicopters have been in action for days and the Canadair fire-fighting plane, which contains more than 6,000 liters of water, was sent from Croatia,” said the 49-year-old grateful for the cross-border aid from the air.

Danger to life from live grenades
What’s the worst for you? “World War I grenades keep exploding because the Isonzo front passed through here. And that is a major, additional danger for the tireless fire brigade and first responders who fight day and night to get the situation under control.”

But the Slovenian also had a different image in her mind in the truest sense of the word: “When the fire slowly but inexorably made its way through the vegetation and crept towards us over the karstic slope. I’ll never forget!”

Many families went home early
Many tourists were also surprised by the flames: “When black smoke was visible, many families drove home early,” said tourism experts from Duino.

Policewoman (56) killed in fire fighting
The tragic death of an Italian policewoman shows that the fires are not only exhausting, but also dangerous. She volunteered to help put out the fire in Prepotto when she was killed by a tree. A permanent firefighter: “Small fires break out everywhere. We are exhausted!”