On Monday, a 45-year-old firefighter died while extinguishing a blaze that broke out near Moscenicka Draga, on Croatia's Istria peninsula, an official told national television.

The fire broke out in the early morning in the hinterland of Rijeka, some 180 kilometers (110 miles) southwest of the capital, Zagreb, and spread toward Selce.

The 1,500 tourists, mostly Slovenians and Austrians, were evacuated from two campsites, while a number of others left a nearby hotel, officials said.

"We are doing everything possible to protect people's lives and property," Interior Minister Ranko Ostojic told the commercial Nova television. "Everything is ready for [further] evacuations," added the minister, who visited the coastal resort where some 150 firefighters were battling the blaze.

Croatia's 800-kilometer coastal line is regularly hit by forest fires during the tourist season.

In Spain, wildfires left four people, all visitors from France, dead and injured more than 20 on Sunday.

mkg/ncy (AFP, Reuters, AP)