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Biting smoke moves in homes. According to Evert Hansson, on Swedish radio, only 20 minutes would have allowed them to pack their belongings and attach the caravan. "Everyone in the village should go there." Because of the summer heat, dozens of big forest fires were completely out of control in Sweden. Entire villages were evacuated during the night of Thursday and during the day
According to the emergency call center, about 40 fires are raging in the forests of the whole country. In the meantime, there were even over 80 smaller fires. The fire spreads quickly because in Sweden it is very dry. For weeks, it did not rain properly. All is not in sight: it is only Wednesday that the Swedish Meteorological Service has issued other heat warnings for the next five days
"The risk of new fires is high"
"The situation we find ourselves in is extraordinary" Prime Minister Stefan Löfven said Thursday during a visit to one of the fire zones. Sweden should be better prepared for extreme weather conditions, he acknowledged. "The risk of new fires is high." The government "will do everything it can" to quickly control the fires.
The three largest fires in Gävleborg, Jämtland and Dalarna in central Sweden, north of Stockholm, included hectares. Forests worth about 600 million crowns (58.18 million euros) have been destroyed so far. The worst fire is raging in the municipality of Ljusdal, according to the rescuers are alone here over 8500 hectares in flames, an area 25 times larger than the Central Park in New York. The "fire front" is 55 kilometers long
The village of Karböle, about 380 kilometers north of Stockholm, is now surrounded by flames on three sides. In a few hours, the fire zone had doubled, as said a spokesman for the relief service of the newspaper "Aftonbladet". After that, residents were safe Wednesday night.
The help of other countries
The fire spread incredibly fast, Evert Hansson also reported. "In a few hours, large parts of the forest were in flames." He and his wife are strong, but their concern is theirs. "You do not know what's going on and what it looks like at home," Hansson said.
The Swedish authorities have asked for help from other countries. Italy and France sent fire-fighting planes, Norway provided helicopters. There were so many firefighters that the special aircraft from dawn to dusk could be used, said an Italian pilot at the SVT television station.
At low altitude, yellow pilots fire on Swedish lakes again and again, load themselves while flying over belly full of water. 6,000 liters are held by the tanks, which are then drained via drones identified by the drone.
The Government Under Pressure
The forest fires also put increasing pressure on the Swedish government. The conservative opposition party Kristdemokraten criticized the fact that Sweden consists of 70% of forests, but did not have clean airplanes. Löfven stressed that it was not important to know who owned the plane, but that Sweden could use it in case of emergency. "Let's have this discussion later, we will evaluate it thoroughly, and now my goal is to extinguish these fires here and now," he pleaded.
However, the situation could worsen because of prolonged heat. The inhabitants who had to leave their homes are prepared for the worst. "You do not know what will happen if the house burns," said Sune Larsson of Karböle on Swedish radio. What he took at home: photo albums. To keep what he looked like
(APA / dpa)
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