SHARE
COPY LINK

WEATHER

Helicopters water bomb wildfire outside Stockholm

A fire that broke out at a former shooting range in northwest Stockholm on Monday has not yet been extinguished despite water-bombing, as experts warn that several parts of the country are at high risk of forest fires.

Helicopters water bomb wildfire outside Stockholm
A helicopter water bombs the fire in Järvafältet north of central Stockholm. Photo: Fredrik Persson / TT

Emergency services had four units at the scene at Järvafältet and two helicopters had been working to water bomb the flames since early in the morning.

Although it was not extinguished, firefighters had managed to tame the blaze.

“There's smoke and a lot of embers, but no open flames,” said Tomas Lindberg from the Stockholm fire department.

The water-bombing began on Monday evening, but was temporarily called off following a strong explosion nearby, as emergency services evaluated the situation”.

Undetonated ammunition had been discovered at the former shooting range and military training ground, according to Aftonbladet, and everyone in the area was evacuated, but the blast was later revealed to have come from ongoing roadworks. 

The risk of forest fires remains extremely high in several locations, particularly in parts of Stockholm and Sörmland counties.

“There are the right conditions for fire; the ground is dry,” said SMHI meteorologist Charlotta Eriksson.

The fire risk is currently greatest in south-eastern Svealand and north-western Götaland, and it relates primarily to forest fires since the season for grass fires has passed, according to Eriksson.

Weather conditions are forecast to be varied across the country for the next few days, including local thunderclaps, but the thunder is not expected to be as serious as the storms Sweden experienced last week, when lightning strikes caused several fires.

Tuesday and Wednesday should see changeable weather across the whole country, with a lot of cloud cover, although the southernmost parts of Götaland might experience continued sunshine.

The east coast is predicted to have the highest temperatures, up to 25C on Tuesday.

“Otherwise, it will be about 20C in the south and between 15-20C in the north, apart from the Norrland coast. There, it might also reach 20C,” said Eriksson.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.