KORCULA FIRES STILL BURN BUT HOPE TO ARRIVE FROM THE AIR

( Editorial: --> 2634 ) ZAGREB, Aug 9 (Hina) - Special Canadair fire-fighting planes will be included in efforts this morning to prevent blazes from spreading on the southern Adriatic island of Korcula. Latest reports say the fire in the Blato municipality on the western side of the island has still not been contained, while firefighters last night battled a blaze between Prizba and Brna. Great efforts were used to stop a fire from approaching the outlying settlement of Vinacac, just 2.5km east of the small town of Blato. Although currently open fires are now further away from Blato, municipal head Branko Bacic said there was still enough sporadic smoke which could start new fires if the winds started blowing again. As a result Korcula is awaiting a delivery of about 150 specialist extinguishing backpacks from Dubrovnik which will assist in continuing efforts to put out fires still burning on the island for the fourth day in a row. Bacic said Canadairs would be included in efforts this morning to prevent the continuation of an uncontrolled spreading of the fire. It is estimated that about 1,300 hectares of the Blato municipality have been burnt, comprising mostly pine forest and agricultural land. Meanwhile, the Croatian Interior Ministry's Fire Operations Centre says about 700 people are working in shifts to fight the blazes on Korcula, with 30 or so fire vehicles also involved. In its latest report on the fire situation as at 6am on Sunday, the Centre said fire-fighting efforts were still underway on the southern Adriatic island of Lastovo. Most critical over night was the blaze on the Zmijacko hill, near the settlements of Uble and Nizno Polje. About 300 people are currently engaged in operations with the help of 10 fire vehicles, while the burnt area covers about 1,000ha of pine forest and dense underbrush. The Centre said the situation in other fire affected parts of the Dubrovnik-Neretva County - the Peljesac peninsula, Mokosica and Cavtat (Gabrila and Plocica) - was good, with firefighters conducting mopping up efforts on the ground. No larger fires were reported in the Zadar, Sibenik-Knin and Split- Dalmatia Counties last night, the Fire Operations Centre said. In all about 1,300 people are involved in efforts to contain all the fires, including professional and volunteer firefighters, members of specialist civil defence units, Croatian Army soldiers and local residents. Fire-fighting forces from the air will operate in active fire areas from early this morning, the Centre said. (Hina) mbr 091105 MET aug 98