Late in the evening of 27 January 2014, an uninsulated power line fell into the dry ground at Uran in Flatanger, on the coast of Trøndelag. The sparks ignited the vegetation, starting the biggest fire in Norway since World War II. 64 buildings were lost before the fire was extinguished at 12 noon on 29 January. See pictures from the dramatic fire: A great tragedy For Lilian and Nils Engbakken on Småværet, right out on the ocean, the fire was a great tragedy. – We lost everything. House and home. The shop and the rental cabins. Our entire life’s work disappeared within a few hours. It was absolutely terrible, says Lillian Engbakken. BUILD AGAIN: Lillian and Nils Engbakken are glad they chose to rebuild the houses on Småværet after the fire in 2014. Photo: Tariq Alisubh / news In an area of 15 square kilometers the fire ravaged the strong wind. An unusually dry and snow-poor winter made it easy for the fire to spread – despite the fire brigade’s great efforts. Values worth around NOK 150 million were lost. – It is still difficult to talk about the sight that met us three days after the fire, says Nils. – It was almost unreal, and I hardly recognized myself. 21 houses disappeared out here on Småværet. There were firewalls and roofs that had fallen down. Huff, that was a sad sight, says Lillian. The fire in Flatanger The biggest fire in Norway after the Second World War. A heather fire that started on the evening of 27 January 2014 when an uninsulated wire fell and ignited the vegetation near Uran in the far south of the peninsula. In strong winds, the flames quickly spread to Hårstad and Hasvåg in the northwest, and to Småværet further west. The fire claimed no lives, but destroyed 64 buildings and left 15 km² of scorched landscape. Fire action over 3 weeks. 26 people, 7 horses, 40 sheep and a dog were evacuated. About. 500 people from 21 fire stations/municipalities, ambulance/health, the Civil Defence, the police and the armed forces. Two coastguard vessels, 5 helicopters and a lifeboat. The compensation payments from the insurance companies after the fire came to NOK 150 million. The Flatanger fire service was nominated for Trønder of the Year for its efforts in evacuating residents, and for the extinguishing work that prevented the fire from spreading further inland. (NTB/report from the fire chief in Flatanger) THIS IS HOW IT LOOKED: Lillian Engbakken’s family ran both a shop and a fish reception at Småværet. This is how it looked before the fire ten years ago. Photo: Private Had two choices She has lived at Småværet almost her entire life. Her father ran a shop and fish reception, until she and Nils gradually took over the family business in 1976. Then everything disappeared in one night ten years ago. – Then we had two choices. Either to give up everything, or to bet again. Fortunately, we chose the latter, says Lillian Engbakken. The store was closed for good. But instead they invested in fishing tourism. Today, they have doubled the accommodation capacity, and especially many German tourists visit the idyllic place from April to October. – The time after the fire has passed very quickly. We spent a little over two years building everything up again. Since then, we have expanded the business and had a lot of work. And it has been good, says the couple. See the destruction: Several large fires In 2014 there were also large fires both on Frøya and in Lærdal. The dry and windy winter provided good conditions for the fires which led to great destruction. These fires in turn led to the Directorate for Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness issuing its order that the municipalities in Norway must cooperate on larger units within the fire service. But in a report from the Ministry of Justice and Emergency Preparedness, the local fire and rescue services were praised, and it was established that the large fires were well handled. In Flatanger, the result was that they now buy services from the fire service in Namsos. But the local fire crews still live in Flatanger. – Did a great job – Management and organization are well taken care of by Namsos, and I believe that preparedness is as good today as it was ten years ago, says Flatanger mayor Olav Jørgen Bjørkås. – The fire service did a great job at the time. Their efforts saved lives and many buildings. Had everything burned down, it would have been far more difficult to rebuild. Today, there is only one house that was not rebuilt, says Bjørkås. Flatanger mayor Olav Jørgen Bjørkås believes they have as good fire preparedness as in 2014, even though the management of the fire service is currently in Namsos. Photo: Namdal Regional Council He believes that most of those who were affected have recovered well after the tragedy in 2014. – But for those who lost absolutely everything, it was probably difficult. But luckily we had no injuries or deaths. After all, that is most important, says the mayor. THIS IS HOW IT LOOKS: Today, there are few traces of the great fire that ravaged from Uran, and inwards towards Hasvåg and Småværet on 27 to 29 January 2014. Photo: Tariq Alisubh / news Good to talk about it In the early days it was difficult to talk about the tragedy. But gradually it has become easier. – People came out in buses to see what it looked like after the fire. They asked how we experienced it, and eventually we realized that it was good to put into words the feelings around it, says Lillian Engbakken. – It is very important to talk about it, and not shut it out, says Nils. Within two years, Lillian and Nils had rebuilt both the residential building, the cafe and the guest apartments at Småværet. Photo: Tariq Alisubh / news The royal visit was important Three days after the fire, the royal couple also visited Flatanger and Småværet. It did good. – We had a good chat with the king and queen. They wished us the best of luck with the reconstruction. And when they were about to leave, King Harald turned to us, raised his arm, and said stand. It was good to hear, says Nils Engbakken. ROYAL VISIT: The king and queen visited Småværet on Flatanger after the fire. Photo: Ned Alley / NTB
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Ten years since the big fire in Flatanger in Trøndelag – Still painful to think about – news Trøndelag – Local news, TV and radio
