Croatia on Tuesday sent in some hundred soldiers and water-bombing planes to help firefighters battle a forest fire fanned by strong winds, raging for the second consecutive day on the Adriatic coast.

Three water-bombing planes were sent to help extinguish the fire in the region of the northern resort of Selce, from where more than 1500 tourists were evacuated on Monday, national rescue services said.

Earlier strong winds of more than 100 kilometres (60 miles) an hour meant that the planes could not be used to battle the inferno in the popular tourist area.

The blaze broke out in the hinterland of Rijeka, some 180 kilometres (110 miles) southwest of Zagreb, and spread towards Selce.

Around 100 members of the Croatian army and six military trucks arrived in Selce overnight to help some 350 firefighters already on site.

Some 1500 tourists from two Selce campsites, mostly Slovenians and Austrians, were evacuated on Monday while a number of other tourists left a nearby hotel, officials said.

Selce was cut off from electricity and phone lines were down, media reported. Interior Minister Ranko Ostojic visited the resort late Monday and warned of a "very difficult situation."

Part of the Adriatic coastal highway in the Selce region remains closed on Tuesday, police said.

Several blazes broke out along Croatia's Adriatic coast, notably its northern part, on Monday. Most of them were either extinguished or brought under control.

A 45-year firefighter died on Monday while battling a blaze that broke out near Moscenicka Draga on the Istria peninsula, fire service officials said. That fire was brought under control later in the day.