Croatia Wildfire Explained: What Happened Near Omiš and Why It Spread So Fast

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By TRH World Desk

Fire swept through wooded hillsides into residential streets, gutting homes, torching parked cars, and damaging boats moored nearby. Parts of Omiš briefly lost power as the flames advanced. Nearly 300 firefighters, backed by water-dropping aircraft, worked through the night, though crews were often outpaced by how fast the fire moved.

New Delhi, August 15, 2026 — A wildfire tore through the hills above Omiš, a popular tourist town on Croatia’s Dalmatian coast, overnight between August 13 and 14, 2026 — injuring dozens of people, forcing thousands to evacuate, and destroying homes, cars, and boats. Officials have called it one of the worst fires in the country’s history.

The fire broke out near Lokva Rogoznica, about 25 kilometers southeast of Split, on the afternoon of August 13 and quickly grew out of control as strong winds pushed it toward the coast and into the Omiš area overnight. It forced the evacuation of roughly 1,000 to 2,000 residents and tourists, many of whom spent the night sheltering in a local sports hall.

By Friday, August 14, officials said at least 40 people had been treated at Split hospital, with around 10 in intensive care and some in life-threatening condition; the injured included both Croatian residents and foreign tourists. One person was reported dead after the remains of a body were found in the aftermath, and at one point a second person was listed as missing.

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What local officials and residents are saying

Croatia’s chief national fire officer, Slavko Tucaković, has led the public response to the blaze. Describing the intensity of the fire to national radio, he said it was frightening even to watch. He also confirmed the fire had destroyed numerous homes and vehicles, causing extensive damage to property and the natural environment, and separately told reporters he’d never seen anything like it in his career.

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković visited the area and addressed the scale of the danger directly, telling reporters that the fire spread at lightning speed. He credited firefighters with limiting the damage, calling their efforts to save the area “truly a miracle,” and noted the added difficulty of protecting a town of around 15,000 residents that was hosting roughly 12,000 tourists at the time.

On social media, Plenković said the government and all relevant services were working together to protect people and address the fallout from the fire.

Why the fire spread so quickly

Three factors combined to make this fire unusually dangerous:

Strong winds. Gusty conditions pushed the fire rapidly from the hills around Lokva Rogoznica into Omiš overnight, giving firefighters little time to establish containment lines.
Dense population and tourism. Omiš’s township population of about 15,000 was swollen by an estimated 12,000 tourists at the height of summer, complicating evacuation and hospital capacity.
A wider European heatwave. The Omiš fire didn’t happen in isolation. Southern Europe has spent much of the summer of 2026 in the grip of a prolonged heatwave and drought, with wildfires also breaking out across France, Spain, Greece, Germany, Italy, Portugal, and the UK in the same period. Weeks of high heat and low rainfall had already left Croatia’s coastal vegetation primed to burn — earlier in August, firefighters were also managing separate blazes on the islands of Brač and Vrgada and near Split.

Where things stand now

Crews brought the main Omiš-area fire under control by Friday, though firefighters remained deployed nearby on the Pelješac peninsula and continued monitoring flare-up risk given the ongoing dry, windy conditions. Access roads that had been closed during the height of the emergency reopened by mid-morning Friday, revealing the extent of the damage: burned-out cars, some with metal melted from the heat, lined stretches of road near the town.

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FAQ

How many people were injured in the Croatia wildfire? At least 40 people were hospitalized in Split, with around 10 in intensive care, according to hospital and government officials.

Did anyone die in the Omiš wildfire? Yes. Authorities confirmed the remains of at least one person were found after the fire, and a second person was reported missing.

Where exactly did the Croatia wildfire happen? The fire started near Lokva Rogoznica and spread toward Omiš, a coastal town about 25 kilometers southeast of Split in the Dalmatia region.

Is the Croatia wildfire connected to other fires in Europe this summer? Not directly, but it’s part of a broader pattern. A persistent heatwave and drought across Southern and Western Europe stoked wildfires in multiple countries — including France, Spain, Greece, Germany, and the UK — throughout the summer of 2026.

Is the Omiš fire under control now?

Yes, firefighters brought the main blaze under control by August 14, though crews remained active nearby as dry, windy conditions continued to pose a flare-up risk.

(Note: Injury and evacuation figures were still being updated by Croatian authorities as of the latest reports and may change.)