The danger for ground fires is currently very great, according to official sources. The risk of grass fires is high in large parts of the country, including Western Sweden. This escalation follows improved weather that has dried up last year's grass, leading to a high risk of grass fires this weekend, multiple reports indicate.
Dry conditions and specific risk factors are fueling the fire threat. The grass was powder-dry, officials said. Dry old grass is very quick-drying when the sun is out, especially with some wind, making it prone to burning well, according to multiple reports. Dry last year's grass has been exposed and is very easily ignited, with examples like burning in gardens or sparks from machines causing fires. The yellow, dry last year's grass constitutes a major risk factor when many people now, for example, go to summer cottages and want to burn twigs and the like, officials noted.
Recent grass fire incidents have occurred in Finspång and Jönköping County. On Sunday, the rescue service responded to a grass fire in Finspång that they managed to get under control, officials said. The rescue service had 20 to 25 minutes of driving time because the location was quite inaccessible and it was blowing strongly, according to officials. The fire grew from 20 by 20 to 50 by 50 meters during that time. In Jönköping County, three alarms about grass fires have come in during Saturday – the largest at 500 square meters, officials reported. The three grass fires have occurred in Sandseryd outside Hovslätt, Herrestad outside Värnamo and Mösshult east of Vetlanda, where the alarm came at 14:00. At Herrestad, an area of 500 square meters had started to burn. All three grass fires were extinguished without it having time to become any great danger to buildings or people.
SMHI has issued a nationwide fire risk warning with specific timing details. From and including Sunday, SMHI urges extra caution with burning and machine work, officials said. The warning applies to large parts of the country during Sunday and it stretches from the southernmost Skåne all the way up to Piteå. When the warning begins to apply varies a little between different areas. In Västra Götaland, the warning begins to apply on Sunday at 13:00 until 18:00, officials stated. The public is therefore urged to be careful with burning. SMHI has issued fire risk warnings that apply to large parts of Svealand, Götaland, southern Norrland, and southern Västerbotten, research shows. There is high grass fire risk in Dalarna county (except Dalafjällen), Jönköping county south of Vättern, and northern Västergötland, Västra Götaland county. SMHI has also issued an alert for grass fire risk in snow-free parts of Värmland, Gävleborg, Örebro, Västmanland, Uppsala, Stockholm, Södermanland, and Östergötland counties.
Small grass fires are particularly dangerous due to their potential consequences. Small grass fires are the most dangerous, causing on average one death and about 30 houses to ignite each year, multiple reports indicate. Small grass fires often occur when people burn a brush pile in the garden or a small grass area and lose control. They are dangerous because they happen where people live, near buildings, and can spread quickly before emergency services arrive.
Public safety recommendations and precautions have been emphasized by authorities. It is important to check the fire risk on Krisinformation.se or the Brandrisk app, multiple reports advise. Safest is not to burn, but if assessing it as safe, have water ready, tools, a charged mobile phone, and never burn alone.
SMHI urges great caution when lighting fires outdoors, stating that grass fires can easily occur and spread in last year's dry grass.
The Brandrisk Ute app provides detailed fire danger information and recommendations. The Brandrisk Ute app provides situation reports on fire danger based on user location in Sweden, research shows. It can be downloaded through the App Store or Google Play and updates forecasts several times a day. The app uses a 1-6 scale with color codes for fire danger levels: Very low (blue), Low (green), Moderate (yellow), High (orange), Very high (red), Extreme (red-purple). It recommends refraining from barbecuing and lighting outdoor fires when fire danger is level 5 (Very high) or 6 (Extreme). The app also contains information about adapting other activities like using chainsaws or riding ATVs based on fire danger.
Additional weather warnings and regional impacts are in effect. Spring weather prevails in a long, narrow country, with SMHI warning of risks for both grass fires and strong wind combined with snowfall, multiple reports indicate. The elevated risk is assessed to apply from 09:00 to 15:00 before rain moves in. A yellow warning is in effect until early morning for strong or very strong wind combined with snowfall in southern Jämtland mountains and northernmost Dalarna mountains. The same warning applies until 23:00 on Thursday in southern Dalarna mountains.
Transportation has been disrupted by a grass fire in Skåne. In Skåne, train traffic between Malmö and Trelleborg was stopped on Saturday afternoon due to a grass fire on the tracks, research shows. Train traffic between Malmö and Trelleborg resumed at 3:30 p.m. with major delays.
Background on grass fire risk alerts and forecasting provides context. Grass fire risk alerts are usually issued in spring when there is high risk of fires occurring and spreading in dry grass areas, research indicates. There are different types of fire risk forecast maps, and there are explanations for how to interpret them. There are two types of fire risk messages: risk for grass fire and risk for forest fire.
SMHI contact information and services are available for the public. SMHI's Customer Services can be contacted for data, statistics, forecasts, publications, official reports, and expert consultations, research shows. SMHI Customer Services phone number is +46 11 495 82 00, fax is +46 11 495 80 01, email is customerservice@smhi.se, and hours are weekdays 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Several unknowns remain regarding the current situation. It is unclear whether there are any current fire bans in place in the high-risk areas, and the exact number of grass fires that have occurred across Sweden during this period has not been confirmed. Specific weather conditions such as temperature and humidity contributing to the high fire risk are not detailed in available reports, and how authorities are enforcing or planning to enforce warnings and prevent unauthorized burning is not specified. Additionally, if any injuries or fatalities have resulted from the recent grass fires remains unknown.