Helsinki-Sana
Finland is battling the worst wildfires in 50 years that scorched 300 hectares in five days in a valley in the northwest of the country during an unusually hot summer.
Official fire fighting operations near the
coastal town of
Kalajoki Jarmo Habann told AFP that the
fires are still burning south Kalajoki overlooking the Gulf of
Bothnia, but does not extend and
is limited to
300 hectares ,
adding :
"The suppression of
fire can take at least a
week .. maybe two or three to extinguish The whole fire.”
Habanen warned that if climate change continues to raise temperatures during the summer in this way, there will certainly be fires more often.
About 250 people, including army soldiers and four helicopters, are participating in efforts to contain the fire.
Experts say the fire is the largest in Finland since 1971, when a forest fire engulfed 1,600 hectares.