smoke on the water, the burning sea,
fire over the pristine beach of vadu, romania, 6th of september 2015
| memories from september 2015 |
Over a hundred tourists coming Sunday, 6th of September 2015 in the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve were surprised by a strong vegetation fire which eventually spread over an area of about 420 hectares in the commune of Corbu.
Corbu commune area comprises 3 villages (Corbu, Luminita and Vadu) and is located in the southern extremity of the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1991. Corbu Black Sea beaches have been ranked in the top 10 pristine beaches in summer 2015.
On 6th of September the tourists from Vadu wild beach, the last frontier of the Romanian seaside, were surprised by a powerful vegetation fire . A small fire started Saturday night had been extinguished by local firefighters but several hours after their leaving the dry vegetation rekindled.
The strong wind blowing around noon on Sunday intensified the flames and the fire quickly extended in the direction of the sea. Tourists were surprised by the speed at which the fire spread, the thick smoke covering the whole range around 15.00.
Basically the hundred or so people who enjoyed the sunshine and pleasant sea water found themselves suddenly in a cloud of smoke and hot air.
Access roads to villages were blocked by fire so parked cars and caravans in front of Vadu Fishery had no opportunity to flee from the flames but only by fast movement on the beach.
Tourists stranded isolated near the sea for more than an hour while the flames completely destroyed the fishery . Initially the fire started on Saturday night affected less then 10 hectares of the Vadu natural reserve but after reactivation of outbreaks due to intense wind the area scorched by fire reached 420 hectares.
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