Firefighters have managed to contain a blaze that threatened the historic Croatian resort of Dubrovnik where authorities have declared a state of emergency.
Despite winds fanning flames at a few spots in the Dubrovnik area, the forest and scrub fires were now believed to be under control, firefighters said.
Three Canadair water bombers helped 250 firefighters and hundreds of residents to save their town on Croatia's Dalmatian coast.
Prime Minister Ivo Sanader visited the ravaged area and said that Zagreb would urge neigbouring Bosnia, from where the fires have spread to the Dubrovnik area, to step up its firefighting efforts.
'We are going to demand a report on Bosnia's capability to organise an effective protection against fires, and depending on it we'll consider further steps,' Sanader said.
A heatwave across much of southern Europe in recent weeks has caused extensive forest fires from Greece to Italy and last week even in Spain's Canary islands.
Some 2,300 hectares (5,600 acres) of forest and brush burned last month, the result of the heatwave that struck Croatia's Adriatic coast.
