– I had envisioned extracting some of the value of investing in the farm. I can only let it go now, says Lars Fullu. Half of the forest he owns was blown over in strong gusts of wind last autumn. The forest that was felled by the wind had a raw value of almost NOK 7 million. Now it is as far as he can go to zero. Lars Fullu looks out over large parts of windswept forests that can probably not be saved. Photo: Anders Haualand / news For the past six months, there has been feverish work in his forest to clean up after the damage. Many experienced the same thing. In Viken, as many as 700 forest owners were affected by the strong wind. Now they are fighting a battle against time. Lars Fullu owns 30,000 cubic meters of forest in Norway. Photo: Anders Haualand / news – At some point it will be too expensive to continue, says Fullu. The savings dry away In an ordinary forest you can go in and cut down the trees in turn. What you do not take one year, you can take the next. But now what is equivalent to four years of felling has already been felled by the wind. Then the trees start to dry. If they become too dry, they can no longer be used for timber and lose most of their value. – We can continue through the summer and maybe the winter if there are good conditions. But after that it starts to get darker, says Dag Utklev, forestry manager in upper Numedal, Viken Skog. Dag Utklev, forestry manager in upper Numedal, Viken Skog. Photo: Anders Haualand / news – Absolutely tragic As with many other forest owners, the forest has been a savings bank for Fullu. Now it is important to get as much out as possible before it dries. In Nore and Uvdal alone, the wind managed to cut down 200,000 cubic meters of forest. Large areas are not recognizable. – It was completely tragic. I hope I never have to see such a sight again. It looked as if someone had combed a several-kilometer-wide ridge over large parts of the forest. The forest was not recognizable after the strong gusts of wind last autumn. Photo: Egil Granum / Viken Skog Twice as expensive Unlike a regular savings bank, you can not just withdraw the money at any time from a forest. You have to rent forest machines to cut down and clean up the forest, then the large quantities of timber must be transported out to be sold. But since the forest is now in holes for bolts, it costs almost twice as much to retrieve it. The trees that were taken by the wind are lying hollow to bolts. Photo: Anders Haualand / news – We need a lot of extra equipment and tools such as excavators and extra people with chainsaws. The terrain here is also extra difficult to work in, says Frode Kjernås, logging contractor. With today’s record high timber prices, Fullu could normally have had a profit of almost 4 million on the felled forest. Now the winnings almost go up in the spinning, and he is lucky if he is left with something. The logging contractors in Numedal have only worked on clearing windy forests in the last six months. Photo: Anders Haualand / news A race against beetles It is not only the felled forest that is urgent. Under the bark, something grows that can kill the rest of the forest. – These are optimal growing conditions for beetles, says Utklev. The bark beetles can grow in the trees that are scattered around the ground. Bark beetles have already infected the windswept forest of Fullu. They can be seen through the sawdust that appears where they have dug themselves under the bark. Photo: Viken Skog This is not a problem in itself. But if they are many enough, they may end up attacking the forest that still stands. – The beetles prevent the trees from picking up nutrients from the roots and kill the forest, says Utklev. To save the forest that is left, they are now in a race to clean up before the beetles spread. – If some of the kids had intended to take over, then there would have been something left for them as well, says Fullu.
ttn-69
