Fierce Forest fires rage in Sweden
Pastor Dale Morgan
Fierce Forest fires rage in Sweden*
STOCKHOLM, June 2 (AFP) Jun 02, 2008
Two large forest fires were raging in central Sweden, a local fire and
rescue service official said Monday, adding that the largest blaze was
completely out of control.
Around 160 fire fighters were trying to fight one fire, covering an area
of about 1,000 hectares located some 350 kilometres (220 miles) north of
Stockholm, Lennart Juhlin told AFP.
"It is completely out of control. We have eight helicopters working to
put it out and are using bulldozers to cut it off, but nothing has
worked so far," he said.
No people had so far been injured in the fire, raging in a sparsely
populated area, and only three homes had so far needed to be evacuated,
he added.
The area was extremely dry and the terrain very uneven, Juhlin said,
explaining the difficulties facing fire fighters.
"The winds have also been blowing in all directions ... Now the wind is
blowing in a northwesterly direction. If that continues, it will be a
good thing," he said.
Around 40 fire fighters were meanwhile working to put out a smaller
blaze in the same region, covering an area of about 100 hectares.
While that fire had been brought largely under control, Juhlin said it
would probably take between three and four days put it out completely.