– State meteorologist Per Egil Haga says that lightning is very rare in coastal and fjord areas in Finland.
In the last 24 hours, less than 1,000 lightning strikes have been recorded in Finland. Most of them in a small area in Paswick and Warangar.
– The state meteorologist says that summer lightning in eastern Finnmark is completely unusual and belongs to southern Europe.
Haga explains that unstable air masses combined with heat give more energy to rain clouds that bring lightning and thunder.
Fire for 17 hours
A heather fire broke out last night south of Lake Huvalata in the municipality of Nasibi.
In a short span of time, 200 lightning strikes were recorded in the Nesibi area where the fire started.
An ambulance helicopter in the area spotted the fire and notified the 110 exchange in Finnmark. 01:03.
Firefighters were able to put out the fire after 17 hours at 6.30 pm on Sunday.
– They estimated the fire to be approx. A size of 100 x 100 meters, says Jarleef Sørensen at 110 Exchange in Finnmark.
Firefighters believe a tree was struck by lightning that started the fire.
Had to help
Nesi division fire brigade started extinguishing the fire. They received help from the forest fire helicopter in Thana.
This morning, the Sør-Varanger fire brigade and the civil defense unit were on the job. They received help from Alta by helicopter, says Sorensen.
Ola Johansson, head of the civil defense unit in eastern Finnmark, said the crew felt the work was needed because of the heat, but they were now ready for new tasks.
Several forest fires in Finland
The past 24 hours have been hectic for the Civil Defense Unit in Finnmark.
– Yesterday we assisted the Red Cross during a search operation for a 30-year-old man in Mehamn. And we were ready to go out to the wildfires in Kautokino, says Johansson.
Rolf Gunnar Nilsen, operations manager for fire in Sør-Varanger, praises civil protection.
– Civil defense has many talented people, and a player we admire a lot, Nilsson says.
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