Forest fire in central Sweden still 'not under control'
The forest fire that has been raging since Midsummer between the towns of Avesta and Norberg in central Sweden has still to be brought under control, local fire services have warned.
According to Mats Hansson from the fire services in the county of Västmanland, around 40 people were currently battling to control the fire, which they have managed to confine to the demarcation lines they established on Monday night.
"We aren't ready to go so far as to say we are in control, particularly after what happened on Monday when the fire broke out," he said.
There is no house within 2.5 to 3 kilometres of where the fire is burning, meaning that at present the fire services do not expect to have to order anyone to evacuate, although the weather makes controlling the fire difficult.
"Warm, dry weather with wind is the worst possible. We want to see the wind drop and the temperature fall," Hansson explained, adding that this looked like it might come to pass over the weekend.
According to Christer Larsson, an officer with Sweden's home guard, from 1pm on Wednesday there will be 25 home guard volunteers on the scene to help out.
"We've got personnel for two 24-hour periods going forward," Larsson said. "Our task is to support the fire services leadership, with putting fires out, keeping watching, making sure there's enough water, and whatever else is necessary."
Larsson was involved in fighting forest fires in 2014 and 2018 and he said that Sweden's authorities had significantly improved their preparedness when it came to forest fires since those two bad years.
"The logistics is something else entirely and the rescue services have had a lot of practice at dealing with this," he said.
Sweden's coastguard sent planes to inspect the fire on Monday evening, and the Civil Contingencies Agency has sent four airplanes and two helicopters.
The fire started on Midsummer and was brought under control only to spark back into life on Monday.
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According to Mats Hansson from the fire services in the county of Västmanland, around 40 people were currently battling to control the fire, which they have managed to confine to the demarcation lines they established on Monday night.
"We aren't ready to go so far as to say we are in control, particularly after what happened on Monday when the fire broke out," he said.
There is no house within 2.5 to 3 kilometres of where the fire is burning, meaning that at present the fire services do not expect to have to order anyone to evacuate, although the weather makes controlling the fire difficult.
"Warm, dry weather with wind is the worst possible. We want to see the wind drop and the temperature fall," Hansson explained, adding that this looked like it might come to pass over the weekend.
According to Christer Larsson, an officer with Sweden's home guard, from 1pm on Wednesday there will be 25 home guard volunteers on the scene to help out.
"We've got personnel for two 24-hour periods going forward," Larsson said. "Our task is to support the fire services leadership, with putting fires out, keeping watching, making sure there's enough water, and whatever else is necessary."
Larsson was involved in fighting forest fires in 2014 and 2018 and he said that Sweden's authorities had significantly improved their preparedness when it came to forest fires since those two bad years.
"The logistics is something else entirely and the rescue services have had a lot of practice at dealing with this," he said.
Sweden's coastguard sent planes to inspect the fire on Monday evening, and the Civil Contingencies Agency has sent four airplanes and two helicopters.
The fire started on Midsummer and was brought under control only to spark back into life on Monday.
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