FIRE ON HVAR ISLAND IS ENTIRELY UNDER CONTROL

STARI GRAD, July 31 (Hina) - The fire on the island of Hvar is entirely under control, the head of Croatia's firemen, Mladen Jurina, and the head of the Split County firemen, Tomislav Grgin, told reporters at 9 am on Thursday. The joint efforts of more than a thousand firemen from Croatia's largest towns were successful, Jurina and Grgin said, but warned this did not mean the four-day fire had been put out, because the wind could bring further danger. More than 3,000 hectares of pine wood, lavender fields, olive-groves and vineyards were burned down in this, one of the biggest fires in Croatia's coastal region of Dalmatia. Thanks to the efforts of the firemen, not a single house was burned down. More than 5,000 tourists from Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic and Slovenia are spending their summer holidays on Hvar. None left the island because of the flames, and some even offered to help in extinguishing the fire. Firemen and Croatian air force helicopters continue to patrol the endangered areas. (hina) ha 311106 MET jul 97