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HELSINKI – Sweden fights its most serious wildfires for decades – including flames over the Arctic Circle – prompting the government to seek help from the military, hundreds volunteers and other European nations. more than 50 fires were burning forests, mainly in central and western Sweden, but also in the north, above the Arctic Circle and on the island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea.
No deaths or injuries have been reported so far. place and thousands of people have been warned to stay indoors with the windows closed to avoid breathing smoky air. Finland and Norway have also reported forest fires in recent days.
Some 500 volunteer soldiers of the Swedish army were deployed to assist Black Hawk helicopters in the central Alvdalen region
. "This is a serious situation and the risk of wildfires is extremely high throughout the country," said Jakob Wernerman, chief of the operations section. the Swedish Civil Emergency Agency, which coordinates firefighting efforts.
The fires occurred while the northern region of Europe experienced an intense heat wave last week. Temperatures have reached over 90 degrees Fahrenheit in Finland, Norway and Sweden. The weather was also dry with no significant rain for weeks – making brushwood and forests in the area highly flammable.
Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said Friday that his government was working "every minute" to provide the necessary resources for hundreds of firefighters. and emergency workers.
Sweden received help – including water bombers, helicopters and personnel – from Italy, France and Norway. Denmark, Germany and Lithuania have also pledged their support.
France Thursday delivered two Canadair CL-415 water bombers, capable of carrying 6,000 liters (1,585 gallons) of water at a time. Italy sent similar planes to Sweden earlier this week.
Swedish media showed dramatic images of flaming forests, helicopters dropping water and firefighters trying to extinguish the flames. ! "This just covers the news on the flames.In an interview, Bjorn Franzen, helicopter pilot carrying water, noted the difficulty of the mission
" We fly mostly at low altitude, it It's often difficult to see anything from the smoke, "he told Aftonbladet." It can be extremely difficult to see where our contribution is needed, sometimes the wind changes direction and then we have to resort to different tactics. "
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