Hot and dry weather further dried up the terrain on Sunday, making it more susceptible to blazes in several parts of Finland.
Fire and Rescue Services in the Oulu region fought two different wildfires. Ylitornio’s Emergency Department engaged in a cross-unit effort to shut down about two hectares of blazing land, thought to have been ignited by lightning. Meanwhile, a wider section of land – approximately 4 hectares in area – took ten units and a helicopter to extinguish.
In Espoo, in the Greater Helsinki region, a four-acre wildfire drew a total of 11 emergency rescue units. South Karelia’s Savitaipale peatland also lit up, with emergency services reporting that the blaze is now extinguished and its afterburn under control.
In addition, pockets of forest fire have been quenched in Kuopio, Rovaniemi, Porvoo, Joensuu, Pori, Rauma, Lappeenranta, Heinävesi, Alavus in Ostrobothnia, Satakunta’s Eura, Juuka and Ilomantsi in North Karelia, as well as in Kainuu’s Puolanka, where about one and a half hectares were burnt out.