A wildfire swept through a residential neighbourhood near the southern Norwegian city of Drammen on Friday, destroying scores of homes and sending hundreds of people fleeing, in an unusually destructive blaze for a country not accustomed to large summer fires.
The fire broke out on Friday afternoon in the Krokstadelva area, near Drammen and around 50 kilometres west of the capital, Oslo. It spread quickly from a residential complex into nearby terraced housing and surrounding forest, driven by strong winds and dry conditions. More than 50 homes were destroyed, with some reports putting the number above 100, and thick black smoke drifted over the western outskirts of Oslo.
Hundreds evacuated
Police evacuated hundreds of residents as the flames advanced, and warned people to stay well clear of the area. No deaths or missing persons were reported, a relief given how fast the fire moved through the tightly packed housing.
Emergency services described a difficult, fast-changing situation through Friday evening as the fire jumped between structures and into woodland, widening the area crews had to defend.
Helicopters join the fight
More than 60 firefighters from Drammen and neighbouring municipalities were deployed, supported by water-dropping helicopters that made repeated passes over the most active parts of the fire. Ground crews worked to cut firebreaks and shield the homes still standing.
By early Saturday, firefighters reported making progress in bringing the blaze under control, though it continued to smoulder and the risk of further flare-ups remained while the dry, windy weather persisted.
An unusual event
Large, destructive wildfires in residential areas are relatively rare in Norway, a country better known for cool, wet summers than for the kind of blazes that have hit southern Europe this year. The speed with which this fire consumed dozens of homes has raised questions about how it spread so rapidly through the neighbourhood.
The cause was not immediately known, and authorities said an investigation was under way. Officials were also assessing what made the fire so destructive, including how it leapt so readily between closely built wooden houses, a common feature of Norwegian residential architecture.
For the hundreds of residents forced out, attention now turns to the damage left behind, and to how many will find their homes among those reduced to ash.
