The Republic of Srpska

Favorable weather conditions will lead many citizens to begin with ploughing their agricultural land and spring cleaning. The Republic of Srpska Ministry of the Interior would like to warn citizens to be cautious while burning weeds and other flammable materials. It is recommended to do these works in the areas they can control, and to extinguish the remains of unburned matter after burning in order to prevent these matters to be carried off by the wind, as well as uncontrolled burning and fire.  Uncontrolled burning of weeds and leaving the fire unextinguished without supervising it while cleaning agricultural properties are common causes of fire. Special danger appears when the burning of flammable materials happens near forests and plantations. In most of the cases, the fire spreads on forests causing big material damage. We would like to warn our citizens to immediately inform the competent fire station, if they notice uncontrolled fire spreading, by dialing the number -123 or to inform the nearest police station by dialing the number -122. During 2015, in the Republic of Srpska, the total number of 239 outdoor fires was recorded, 82 of which happened on state property and 157 on private property. Last year, five persons died in fires caused by burning weeds in the cities of Banja Luka, Zvornik, Bijeljina, Prnjavor and Oštra Luka. We urge all citizens, farmers and foresters to follow legal provisions, not to burn fire at prohibited places, not to leave fire without supervision and not to destroy nature, because a small inattention may have huge consequences.