Hundreds evacuated from Croatian island of Brač following major wildfire

Hundreds of people including British tourists have evacuated a Croatian island after a major wildfire broke out, with one recalling fleeing “as a wall of flames closed in”, according to reports.

Around 500 people were evacuated from the island of Brač near the popular coastal city of Split, firefighters told the Hina news agency, many of whom were guests at the Gava Waterman Milna Resort, including several guests.

Britons at the resort told how they were forced to flee into the sea on a paddleboard to escape the flames, with some alleging they were “abandoned” during the evacuation effort in an interview with The Times - an accusation the resort has denied.

Josh Robbins, 26, said he and his fiancée Shelby A’Court left their room to find the resort’s car park “surrounded by a wall of fire as firefighters tried to hold back the flames”. The pair had to “run for our lives as a wall of flames closed in as we were showered by burning embers”, he told The Times.

They first noticed something was wrong when the power went out. The hotel’s reception told them “everything was fine” but to pack their bags just in case, Mr Robbins told Croatian broadcaster RLT Danas according to net.hr.

“We went to our room, but about 10 minutes later the fire was already close to the room, maybe 20 or 30 meters away,” he said. “We went to the reception, but it was empty. There was only one member of staff left. The electric doors wouldn't open, and guests were trying to get out. We had to force them open.”

Boats were sent out to rescue those trapped on the island, including speedboats, fishing boats, and boats belonging to the Croatian navy and port authorities.

Ms A’Court gave more details of the harrowing evacuation effort: "It was terrible. We were in the water, on a stand-up paddleboard and trying to get to the boat that was leaving.

“We were screaming, crying, begging. Luckily, they stopped and we were able to get on board. It was a matter of life and death. We're safe now and that's what matters.”

She added in a separate interview with The Times: “Josh lost his shoes as we swam and I had to abandon stuff in my bag because it was soaked through and dragging me down. Others swam for it and it’s amazing no one was lost or drowned in the darkness.”

Electrician Steve Saunders, 57, from Kent, told the British outlet that he and his 52-year-old wife, Anna, were “abandoned and given no instructions whatsoever”.

Mr Robbins said the hotel “handled the situation very poorly”, adding: “They didn't give us any warning, they didn't tell us in time to evacuate.”

The Independent has contacted Waterman Hotels for comment, but a spokesperson previously denied that the staff abandoned guests in a response to The Times.

“This was an exceptionally fast-moving wildfire, driven by very strong winds. Power was lost across the resort, heavy smoke severely reduced visibility and conditions changed dramatically in a very short period of time. We completely understand why guests caught up in those circumstances were terrified, and we do not seek to diminish or challenge their individual experiences.

But the spokesman added the resort is “extremely proud of the responsibility and courage shown by our employees that night”.

The mayor of Milna, a village in Brač, described the wildfire as a “disaster”, adding that it was “simply impossible”.

Speaking to Net.hr, mayor Frane Lozic added on Sunday: "I would have not believed that [the fire] can wipe out everything in its path so quickly.

"We thought we got it reined in yesterday, that it is all over, and then it happened: Sea wind starts blowing at 9pm and out of nowhere, there is a monster.”

Authorities believe around 3,500 hectares have been burned by the fire, according to the AFP news agency, although a full damage assessment is still underway.

Croatia has suffered the its worst year for wildfires since 2022 in terms of burned area, according to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), the forecasting system for the EU’s Copernicus climate change service.

More than 20,800 hectares have burnt across 59 wildfires in the country so far this year, EFFIS data shows.

It is unclear whether this includes the Brač fire, but it remains short of the record of 67,666 hectares across 108 wildfires in 2017, the worst year for wildfires in the country since EFFIS started recording data.

It comes towards the end of a devastating summer for wildfires across Europe. Around 700,000 hectares of land were burned by wildfires across the EU in 2026, according to the bloc’s crisis management commissioner Hadja Lahbib, as back-to-back heatwaves scorched the continent causing tens of thousands of excess deaths.