Published: Just now
Forest fires that flare up again can cause major damage to the forest. Now the landowners will get help to monitor the supposedly extinguished fires.
Large forest fires often occur when already extinguished fires flare up again. In 2018, approximately 70 percent of the total fire area was caused by smaller fires, which were judged to have been extinguished, catching fire again.
When the rescue service’s extinguishing work in the event of a forest fire has been completed, it is the landowner who is responsible for monitoring the fire area. But the ability and knowledge to take care of an extinguished fire varies among landowners. To help them, the forestry research institute Skogforsk, in collaboration with other stakeholders, has now developed guidelines for monitoring an extinguished fire. They contain simple instructions on what to do in practice during a surveillance and a checklist for the rescue leader.
During the years 2018–2021, the rescue services carried out an average of just over 5,500 emergency calls per year linked to fires in forests and land. 2018 was a record year with almost 8,000 calls. The large fires that ravaged the counties of Gävleborg, Jämtland and Dalarna during the summer damaged the forest to a value of approximately SEK 900 million.