Fire hazard along the entire west coast

Fire.Photo: Jørn Bærheim / Scanpix

Fire departments in several counties are asking people to be extra careful when they make a fire. It has been very dry in many places, and grass fires are constantly out of control.

 

So far no personal injuries have been reported, but on Friday a barn collapsed in Møre og Romsdal.

All fires and control fires must be reported to the fire department, you may call the 110-center in Haugaland and Sunnhordland.

Both in Hordaland and Møre and Romsdal there are reports of fires that got out of control on Saturday. This included a heather fire at Kleivanest in Herøy municipality and one in Giske municipality.

Fire number 16 was notified a little after 18:00, reports NRK. Later in the evening, a fire began in a transformer in Bergshagen in Volda. The fire department reported heavy smoke development.

It’s been a long time since there has been any rainfall in western Norway. Sunshine and wind dry up old grass and leaves after winter and it increases the fire hazard. Several places in Western Norway have introduced a general fire ban, including control fires. This applies, for example, to Sande, Ulstein, Hareid and Ålesund regions.

In Hordaland, Lindås and Meland firefighters had to extinguish a 200-300 square meter grassfire in Gjervika. The fire started when a fire got out of control.

“People must realize that sparks and embers from a fire can ignite the landscape 100 meters further away,” says leader Nils Medaas.

As of 18:00 Saturday evening, nine reports of grass and heather fires had been received in Hordaland. In Møre og Romsdal there were seven grass and heather fires Saturday – in Sande, Herøy, Giske, Hareid, Vanylven and Ørsta. All had eventually been put out.

Just after 18:00 a new firefire in Solund was reported out of control.

Operator Christer Skei at the 110th district in Hordaland asks people to visit safety website (sikkerhverdag.no) and read about proper camp fire building before taking a box of matches on a trip.

 

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today