Serbia evacuated thousands of villagers on Saturday (August 25) and called up the army to help fight wildfires raging unabated through the drought-hit western Balkans.<br/> <br />Fires near the southwestern Serbian town of Cacak swept through hillsides and cornfields dried to a crisp by scorching temperatures, forcing the evacuation of three villages.<br/> <br />Russia sent a Beriev Be-200 fire-fighting plane, with a capacity of 12 tonnes, to join a Russian helicopter that has been in action for days trying to douse the fires. Late Saturday Serbia asked Russia to send one more plane to join the firefight.<br/> <br />The state news agency had Tanjug reported three people had been hurt trying to battle the flames, including one fire-fighter, but it did not specify how seriously.<br/> <br />The western Balkans is in a heatwave that has seen temperatures top 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), triggering hundreds of wildfires.
