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Avalanche concerns: Lyngen mayor worried about tourists heading up the mountains

Mayor Dan Håvard Johnsen in Myngen Municipality says that many tourists are heading up the mountains, also in areas prone to avalanches. The municipality is on full alert.

Published: 2 April 2023 13:41 CEST

Lyngen

During the weekend, four people died in several avalanche accidents in the area. Photo by Kevin Bessat on Unsplash

“The current status is that I am receiving reports from Lyngen that there is a very large amount of tourists moving up the mountains now, also in areas prone to avalanches,” the mayor told the news bureau NTB.

He says the weather is wonderful.

“It’s like walking into a painting. That increases the risk of some people taking slightly unnecessary risks,” he says.

During the weekend, four people died in several avalanche accidents in the area.

Mayor Johnsen wants a national warning service for avalanches to be put in place, and he will raise the issue with the three ministers who will visit on Sunday to be briefed on the avalanche accidents.

Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre told Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) that he would review the national warning routines.

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MAPS: Where is there a risk of forest fire in Norway this week?

The Norwegian Meteorological Institute’s forest fire danger index was already red, yellow, or orange, right across southern Norway on Monday, signalling a risk of forest fires.

The dark red “very high risk” area was, however, limited on Monday to a patch along the coast of Østfold.

The risk of forest fires on May 20th. Source: Norwegian Meteorological Institute (NMI)

On Tuesday, the area of “very high danger” is forecast to spread to cover all of Østfold and areas of Vestfold, with patches of high risk area in Agder around Kristiansand.

The risk of forest fires in Norway on Tuesday May 21st. Photo: NMI

By Wednesday, large parts of Rogaland and Agder are likely to be classed as “very high risk”, as well as areas of Trondelag around Trondheim. Much of central southern Norway will mid-week be classed as at serious risk of forest fire.

The risk of forest fires in Norway on Wednesday May 22nd. Source: NMI

Have there been any fire bans announced?

In Norway there is a general fire ban in place every year from April 15th to September 15th, which bans the lighting of bonfires in forests, beaches, the mountains, meadows, marshes, and other types of wilder landscapes.

Norwegian municipalities or counties can then institute an “extraordinary” or “total” fire ban, which means you are no longer allowed to light a fire even in green areas in cities and towns such as public parks and municipal barbecue areas, or to use a camping stove in forests and other wilder landscapes.

So far as The Local can see, no municipality has yet issued an extraordinary or total fire ban this year, but Stein Laache, the fire chief in Fredrikstad told NRK on Monday that he and the fire chiefs from 29 other municipalities were considering bringing in a ban “in a few days”.

He said that the ban could be a targeted at activities in the forest that could lead to a fire, such as forest itself or shooting at rifle ranges.

Fire servces in Sarpsborg said in a press release on Monday that they were considering bringing in a broader ban.

“The fire service is continuously considering an extraordinary and extended ban on starting fires in and near forests and other wild, natural areas,” the municipality said in its press release, with the local fire chief Terje Surdal adding that “such a ban could be brought in at short notice”.

Terje Romskog, the fire chief for the Rakkestad Municipality, told the NTB newswire that people in the municipality should of their own accord hold back from lighting fires.

“There is one thing that applies: do not light anything – whether it’s a fire for coffee, a primus or a disposable grill. You have no idea how quickly it can spread and how big a fire can become.”

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