– The fire is under control as it stands now, but everything depends on the wind not turning and becoming stronger. If more residents have to be evacuated, they will be notified directly, says operations manager Anne Birgitte Arras just before 10.30pm on Saturday. The fire service is now using a heat-seeking drone in efforts to extinguish several small fires in the terrain. – Right now there is no immediate danger to houses. We want to get something done about the small fires as soon as possible, says Per Ove Johansen, the fire service’s task leader. One of the most challenging things has been that the wind has contributed to rapid spread. The fire service stated earlier this evening that both the dry area and high winds made the fire challenging to extinguish. The fire service believes they are beginning to gain control of the largest part of the fire. Photo: Lars Petter Berdahl / Fosen fire and rescue The Civil Defense and the Red Cross assist Both the Civil Defense and the Red Cross help. This is what it looked like when the fire approached buildings earlier this evening. Photo: Ingrid Lindgaard Stranden – We assist the fire brigade with crews and equipment in connection with extinguishing the fire. The fire brigade was early to ask for help. We help with what we have, says Gjertrud Berglund, emergency guard for the Civil Defense in Sør-Trøndelag, and adds: – It’s Saturday night and Christmas party time, and it’s not so easy to get people out. But we provide 12 people on site, two fire pumps and other extinguishing equipment. The cause of the fire is not known. The 110 switchboard received the first call about the fire at 3.10pm on Saturday. Both the fire service, the Civil Defense and locals are involved in the extinguishing work. Photo: Ståle Eian The fire is approaching settlement, and several houses have been evacuated. Photo: Albert Larsen The residents who have been evacuated have been asked to go to the municipal hall in Åfjord municipality. Photo: Hege Terning The fire was reported at 3.15pm on Saturday afternoon Photo: Tipser Many volunteers also contribute to the extinguishing work. Ståle Eian has helped with moving and stretching fire hoses. Ståle Eian contributes as a volunteer in the extinguishing work. Photo: Ståle Eian – I live in the housing estate right next to where it started. We saw the smoke rising from behind the mountain behind the house, so I got dressed and went up to see, he says. Evacuees – It’s a bit scary, it is, says Steinar Kristian Eian. He is one of the 27 people who had to leave their home after the evacuation. – When you hear that you are being evacuated, it is a bit more serious nonetheless. Now they took the power in the fields, so the upper part of the field is blacked out, he told news while the evacuation took place at around 18:00 on Saturday. Hege Terning and Ida Lindbak have also been evacuated. Hege Terning is one of the evacuees. Photo: Hege Terning – We were told that we didn’t have many minutes to leave. I saw the smoke, it lights up here, says Terning. The municipality monitors the situation and cooperates with the fire and rescue agencies. It is on the municipality’s website. Councilor in Åfjord municipality, Per Johansen, says that most of the 27 evacuees have found accommodation on their own. – Some are also offered accommodation at the Julie Næss yard, he adds. The municipality runs a nursing home there and tonight they have delivered mattresses there. 30 houses evacuated Originally 15 homes were evacuated, but this was later expanded. – A total of 30 houses have been evacuated, says councilor in Åfjord municipality, Per Johansen. Photo: Albert Larsen Response leader Lyngvær says the closest fire was 50 to 100 meters from the building – The fire spreads very quickly because of the wind, he said earlier. It then burned in a large area of between five and ten meters on the mountain and valley side. Albert Larsen is also among the evacuees. He tells about how he perceived that the fire started. – It started this afternoon after we had eaten dinner. So I think it was so strange – rain was reported at YR, but the raindrops that came were so strange. Then I looked more closely at them, and then there was smoke, he says. Larsen, who is a former mayor of Roan, says that the fire first started on steep terrain. – And then it has spread downwards towards buildings. And an area with a number of cabins is probably where it is most exposed right now, says Albert Larsen. Forest fire danger throughout Trøndelag – The fire is spreading quickly in terms of wind direction and wind speed, said Jostein Tangen, fire marshal at the 110 – central in central Norway on Saturday afternoon. Tangen said that it had been dry in the terrain for a long time. It is an area of heather, scrub and forest that is now burning. It is dry and there is a high risk of forest fires throughout Trøndelag. – People should be careful when using open flames, says the fire chief. The cause of the forest fire which is currently underway is not known. There is a fire in a mountain area in Roan in Åfjord. Photo: Tips Forest fire helicopter not coming A forest fire helicopter has been on standby at Værnes. It has been requested and requested from the 110 central in central Norway. But there are no conditions for deploying a forest fire helicopter now. This is what rescue manager Oddgeir Andersen at the main rescue center in southern Norway says to news. – It is not weather and light conditions. Forest fire helicopters do not operate in the dark and need daylight, says Andersen.
ttn-69
