3,000 hectares of forest ravaged by fire

Norway has suffered one of the country's most disastrous forest fires since the war. Extreme drought resulted in the destruction of about 3.000 hectares of forest in the Froland county on the south coast.

15 helicopters and several hundred firemen worked for a whole week to get the fire under control.

It seems that as much as 100,000 cubic metres of timber were damaged and 15 forest huts were destroyed. In many places the inhabitants were evacuated, but fortunately no dwelling houses suffered from the fire. It is still too early to calculate the economic damage, but the estimated losses seem to be 80 — 100 million NOK (10 — 12 million €).

A total of 20 forest owners suffered damage, but most of their forests were insured. The aggregate compensation is estimated to be about 30 million NOK (3.5 — 4.0 million €), i.e. about half the market price of the burned timber. Furthermore, the area will be ruined for hunting for many years.

The local authorities and the fire department have been criticized for insufficient preparedness. On the basis of the experiences from the Froland fire the Directorate for Civil Protection and Emergency Planning will make a thorough investigation of the central authorities' preparedness to combat forest fires.