Residents in the villages of Hanåsen, Binnäset and Björnsjövallen in Bräcke municipality in Jämtland are being urged to evacuate their homes due to the severe forest fires.
Evacuation must take place as quickly as possible.
Residents in the villages of Hanåsen, Binnäset and Björnsjövallen in Jämtland were forced to evacuate their homes overnight due to the severe forest fires, just like in the village of Kårböle in Gävleborg.
The rescue service is fighting two fires in the Bräcke area. One in Hanåsen and one in Exmyrkullen, also known as Grötingeberget. The decision to evacuate was made because the fires threatened to cut off an access road and lock down several residents.
Early in the morning the situation looks more hopeful.
The weather has been on our side and the humidity has increased significantly so the intensity of the fires has decreased. We have now got people working on the ground with both fires, says Niklas von Essen, chief of staff at the Jämtland Rescue Service, to TT just before 5 am.
From 10 a.m., six helicopters will assist in the firefighting effort.
Niklas von Essen points out that those who have been evacuated cannot return home until the emergency services say they can. He estimates that around 20 houses and around 100 residents are affected by the evacuation.
The rescue service suspects that the Hanåsen fire started in connection with a thunderstorm.
Between 70 and 90 people were evacuated during the evening and night in the village of Kårböle in Ljusdal municipality in Gävleborg, after the fire gained momentum on Wednesday.
The evacuation was completed at 4 am, writes helahälsingland.se.
The wind is expected to turn towards Kårböle and the rescue services are concentrating their efforts there.
That's what we have to try to focus on, there are problems in other places too, but these are priority issues, says rescue leader Leif Gäfvert to the newspaper.
Ljusdal Municipality has set up emergency accommodation in cottages for those who have left their properties in Kårböle.
Prime Minister Stefan Löfven (S) will come to Ljusdal during the day to take part in the efforts to combat the forest fires.
Gävleborg County, Dalarna and Jämtland County are the worst affected by fires, but severe forest fires are also raging in many other counties.
The Italian firefighting aircraft that have begun waterbombing the largest fires will be reinforced on Thursday by two French planes of the same model, each of which can collect 6,000 liters of water at a time.
”"It is a serious situation and the risk of forest fires is extremely high throughout the country. Therefore, we are now choosing to request support from the EU for the third time this summer with firefighting aircraft that can support the rescue services if necessary," says Jakob Wernerman, operational manager for MSB's handling, according to a press release on Wednesday.
Source: TT
