With hurricane-force winds, the small house of Harald Brøvig Hansen and co-habitant Oliver Dawe was very noisy on the night of Tuesday. – There was a lot of shaking and noise, and I woke up every now and then and wondered if it was the roof that was moving, says Hansen. The 35-year-old has found his paradise together with his partner Oliver Dawe, on the small island of Ingøy in Måsøy municipality in Finnmark. At 71 degrees north, not far from the world’s most northerly lighthouse, Fruholmen lighthouse, the reconstruction house is clawing its way. Especially the last few days. Stavanger aftenblad told the story of the islanders first. Snowstorm on the way in towards Ingøy. Photo: Privat Feared that the dog would blow into the sea When news spoke to the cohabiting couple, they had rigged up laptops downstairs in the house. To be safe, in case the roof and windows burst, they have also put field beds down in the basement. The cohabiting couple’s dog, Kim, has not been allowed to go out for fear that he will be blown overboard. – So he has been offered to pee inside, says Hansen. The dog Kim is out for a walk. Tonight he had to stay inside. The storm raged well on Ingøy. Photo: Privat Nailed the windows again With a weather forecast on the way, the likes of which meteorologists had not seen for several years, the roommates thought at an early stage that here it was best to be on the lookout. – When we realized how bad it was going to be, we found that it was best to re-nail some of the windows, says Hansen. Ingøy has around 20 permanent residents, but on the south side of the island only Harald and Oliver keep house. Photo: Allan Klo / news Harald and his partner Oliver moved from Oslo three years ago. Oliver is a theater director from London. He has established the artist residency The Field Station, while Harald is the general manager of the energy company Øygrid, which he himself started. When he came to Ingøy, he quickly got a new business idea. Namely, to relieve the power grid with a small wind turbine and a battery, which solves problems both for grid companies, local businesses and the local population. – If people are to live in places like this, you need infrastructure that ensures power supply, he says. As of today, they are dependent on diesel generators on the island. Blowing up again Although the weather is slightly calmer on Tuesday, the cohabiting couple have no plans to lower the garden. On the night of Wednesday, a full storm is reported out on the island. They have not been out of the house more than necessary in the last 24 hours. They had to go out on Tuesday morning to moor the trailer an extra time. It had worn out. – There was a lot of roofing felt from the barn and roof tiles in the garden, but apart from that it was not as bad as feared, says Hansen about the night’s ravages. If the roof floats to the sea, the cohabiting couple can sleep in field beds that they have moved down into the basement. Photo: Privat There are around 20 permanent residents on the island, but on the south side only Harald and Oliver live in the winter. They have to use snowmobiles to get to the shop. – We were supposed to be over at the quay where the shop is and help with a number of things that have been destroyed by the storm. But right now it’s best that we don’t take any chances. So we stay at home, says Hansen. All ferry traffic in Vest-Finnmark has been canceled on Tuesday. Ingøy in Finnmark is just west of the Nordkapp, at the far end of the sea gap. Concerned friends and relatives Several houses on the island have had their windows smashed in the storm. Power lines have fallen and the chain to the floating jetty has come loose, says Hansen. He says that they are not afraid, but that others are probably more worried. – We have received a number of messages from friends and family, who wonder how we are doing, says Hansen. – You have sought out the exotic, has it become excessively exotic? – Yes, it has become a bit too exotic, but we know that there can be a lot of weather out here. But we like to be close to nature, says the 35-year-old.
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Harald has re-nailed the windows in the storm at Fruholmen lighthouse – news Troms and Finnmark
