New Year’s Eve live blog: Mainly smaller fires during the warmest turn of the year ever, no major incidents so far

This live blog is closing, thanks for following. There have been many minor incidents, no major issues so far. On New Year’s Day we take stock. Follow our website and socials for the latest news. Good night!

Here and there in the region fires break out throughout the evening, but really major calamities do not materialize. This is confirmed by the police, the fire brigade and spokespersons of various municipalities. Woudenberg was preparing for another turbulent New Year’s Eve, but so far it has been quiet. Utrecht and Amersfoort also report no major incidents.

The fact that there are no major calamities does not mean that the emergency services have nothing to do. The fire brigade is constantly on the lookout for smaller fires. Several cars burned down in the city of Utrecht. In a fire on a balcony in Amersfoort, it turned out to be a fire basket that could be extinguished quickly. In Amersfoort, a dirt bike was thrown on a burning woodpile. A community center in Veenendaal also caught fire, but could be extinguished.

In Bunschoten, a market truck completely burned out. It stood next to a barn on Gasthuisweg. The fire was quickly scaled up due to the high winds. The fire has since been extinguished, but the farm and livestock were spared.

The lottery ticket for the main prize for the New Year’s Eve draw of the State Lottery has been sold in Amersfoort, the Dutch Lottery reports. The lot was bought at the Primera Vathorst in Amersfoort. The winning lottery ticket comes with a cash prize of 30 million euros, tax-free.

The total prize money was 75 million euros. The main prize is 30 million, just like last year, when someone from Utrecht won.

The warmest turn of the year ever was measured in De Bilt on Saturday at midnight, Weeronline reports. It was 15.5 degrees there. The record of 12.1 degrees from the turn of the year 2006 to 2007 has thus been broken. In Ell in Limburg it was warmest around midnight, with 16.6 degrees.

Saturday was the warmest New Year’s Eve ever, with a measured temperature of 15.9 degrees in De Bilt. This set a new heat record for the month of December at the main station, according to Weeronline.

The old December record was 15.3 degrees and was measured on December 24, 1977 and on December 17, 2015. New Year’s Day is also expected to be exceptionally warm, with an expected temperature of between 11 and 14 degrees.

In Amersfoort, the New Year was ushered in at the Onze Lieve Vrouwentoren, where hundreds of people experienced the countdown together under the guidance of a light show. Fireworks can be seen all over the region and people toast the new year together on the streets.

And of course we also do that at RTV Utrecht, with non-alcoholic beer ;). On behalf of all colleagues, we wish you a very happy New Year.

Cars are set on fire in several places in the region. It is unclear whether they all caught fire due to fireworks. The fire brigade is regularly called out to extinguish the flames.

In Utrecht, three cars and a delivery van were on fire on Adenauerlaan tonight. The fire brigade says that the wind is the culprit here; one car caught fire and the fire spread to the other cars.

In Doorn, despite the fireworks ban in Utrecht, there is a lot of banging. Our reporter sees that in addition to decorative fireworks, heavy illegal fireworks are also set off.

A fire broke out at the Thatched Roof School on Thorbeckelaan in Utrecht. The fire grows quickly. Local firefighters have been called to help. A special thatched roof team has also been called in.

Despite the ban, fireworks are still set off in Soest. Soest is one of the municipalities where a fireworks ban applies. Quite a few fireworks will also be set off in Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Haarlem, Nijmegen and Schiedam on Saturday at the start of New Year’s Eve, ANP reports.

Residents of Soest were able to hand in their illegal fireworks earlier this week, possibly anonymously and without consequences. One person showed up in Soest. The municipality of Utrechtse Heuvelrug has also imposed a ban on fireworks.

More lottery tickets were sold for the New Year’s Eve draw of the State Lottery this year than last year. A total of 7,166,000 lottery tickets were sold. Last year, about 7.1 million lottery tickets were sold. The raffle tickets were on sale until 7 p.m.

“The New Year’s Eve tickets could not be dragged in today and flew over the counter at a record rate of 2,268 per minute,” the State Lottery reports. The New Year’s Eve draw is the biggest draw of the lottery and most tickets are sold in the last few days before New Year’s Eve.

The result will be announced around midnight. The total prize money is 75 million euros. The main prize is 30 million, just like last year, when someone from Utrecht won.

According to the Belangenvereniging Pyrotechniek Nederland (BPN), a record amount of fireworks was sold this year. Fireworks dealers have achieved a turnover of 110 million euros.

The old sales record was 77 million during the turn of the year from 2019 to 2020. The following two years followed a watch ban due to the corona pandemic.

According to a BPN spokesperson, 10 percent of the increased turnover is due to inflation and the higher price of the fireworks. “The rest is really because a lot more has been sold. The enthusiasm for fireworks is very great this year.”