Largest forest fires in the Nordic countries
The largest forest fires in the Nordic countries, ranked by area burned: all we know of in Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Iceland and Greenland, and the 15 largest in Norway.
Tuntsa fire
1960 · Salla, Lappland · 200 km² burned
The fire was probably started by lightning in the Tuntsa wilderness in northern Salla at the end of June 1960, in the middle of a very hot summer. Almost 500 men fought it on the Finnish side. About half the burned area was forest, the rest bog, bare fell and sparse woodland. The fire destroyed some of the best winter grazing for reindeer, and in the following years Europe's largest salvage logging operation was set up to recover the burned timber.
Västmanland forest fire
31 July–11 September 2014 · Sala, Surahammar, Norberg and Fagersta · 138 km² burned
The fire started on 31 July 2014 on a clear-cut in Surahammar, according to Forskning.se from a spark from a forestry machine in extreme heat. It became Sweden's largest forest fire since at least the 1950s, and one person died. The rescue operation officially ended on 11 September. Today about half of the burned area is a nature reserve.
Basevuovdi fire
1894 · Karasjok, Finnmark · 120 km² burned
Kårböle fires (Ängra, Enskogen, Nötberget)
July 2018 · Ljusdal, Gävleborg · 100 km² burned
Ängra, Enskogen and Nötberget were three of around 50 forest fires burning at the same time in Sweden in mid-July 2018, after a long spell of drought and heat. At times the fires spread in all directions, and four water-bombing aircraft worked here at once. Several villages in Ljusdal were evacuated, about 200 people in all. Sweden received help through the EU from Italy, France, Portugal and Poland among others, and Norway sent helicopters.
Mýrar fire
30 March–1 April 2006 · Borgarbyggð, Vesturland · 73 km² burned
The fire started on the morning of 30 March 2006, probably from a cigarette thrown from a car by road 54. After a cold, dry spell with north winds, the grass and heather in the large wetland area caught easily, and the fire reached the sea 18 kilometres away in six hours. Residents, the fire service and a helicopter put it out after three days. No one was hurt and no houses burned, but the fire hit the wildlife and plants hard.
Kihniö fire
1933 · Kihniö, Pirkanmaa · 70 km² burned
The largest fire on the list of large Finnish forest fires after Tuntsa. About 7,000 hectares burned, most of it forest.
Rønningsåsen fire
June 1844 · Rendalen, Innlandet · 60 km² burned
Femundsundet–Snerten fire
1852 · Engerdal, Innlandet · 45 km² burned
Trängslet fire
12 July–3 August 2018 · Älvdalen, Dalarna (Trängslet firing range) · 37 km² burned
The fire was probably started by lightning on 12 July 2018 and reached the Trängslet firing range in Älvdalen. The risk of unexploded ammunition made it hard to fight, and for a time only military helicopters with splinter protection could drop water. On 25 July a Gripen jet dropped a precision bomb over the fire to smother the flames, which was only possible because it was burning on a firing range. About 40 properties were evacuated, and German firefighters helped.
Rendalen forest fire of 1851
summer 1851 · Rendalen, Innlandet · 35 km² burned
Sokndal and Lund forest fires
20–24 April 2003 · Sokndal and Lund, Rogaland · 30 km² burned
Småland forest fire
16–21 August 1868 · Kronoberg, east of Växjö · 30 km² burned
A farmer trying to break a stone with fire and water on newly cleared land lost control in a very dry summer with a fire ban. The fire raged in the parishes of Furuby, Dädesjö, Gårdsby and Hemmesjö for five days, in a year of famine, and around 4,000 men from 15 parishes took part in fighting it.
Froland fire (Mykland fire)
9–22 June 2008 · Froland, Agder · 27 km² burned
Spannarboda fire
23 July 1914 · Fellingsbro, Örebro län · 24.7 km² burned
Sparks from a train started the fire a kilometre north of Spannarboda station, and dry vegetation and wind spread it fast. Around 3,000 men, including 1,200 soldiers, fought it, and the Stockholm fire brigade sent two steam pumps. After a week the fire was stopped. It was the largest forest fire in Sweden that summer.
Sisimiut fire
July–August 2017 · About 150 km north-east of Sisimiut · 23.45 km² burned
The fire was discovered at the end of July 2017 and burned in thawed peatland about 150 kilometres north-east of Sisimiut. There had been no lightning in the area, so researchers suspect it was started by people. Scientists at NILU found that almost a third of the soot landed on the ice sheet, where it can darken the ice and increase melting. They called the fire a warning of what can happen as the permafrost thaws.
Sotra forest fire of 2006
5–8 May 2006 · Øygarden (formerly Fjell), Vestland · 20 km² burned
Pasvik fire
July 1945 · Sør-Varanger, Finnmark (near the three-country cairn) · 20 km² burned
Sanddøldalen fire
1852 · Grong, Trøndelag · 20 km² burned
Bodträskfors forest fire
11 August–8 September 2006 · Boden, Norrbotten · 19 km² burned
The fire started along a forest road west of the Lule river and raged for 29 days. Crews from almost all of Norrbotten, other parts of Sweden, Finland, the Home Guard and the air force took part. No one died, and no homes burned.
Rendal fire of 1920
20 June 1920 · Rendalen, Innlandet (south of the Mistra river) · 17 km² burned
Isojoki–Honkajoki fire
from 19 July 1959 · Isojoki and Honkajoki, South Ostrobothnia and Satakunta · 17 km² burned
The fire started on a Sunday during a heatwave and spread across the provincial border from Isojoki to Honkajoki. Reservists, fire brigades and conscripts from several garrisons put it out in about a week, and hundreds of residents were evacuated. It was Finland's second-largest forest fire after the wars, beaten only by Tuntsa the following year.
Kalajoki fire
1970 · Kalajoki, North Ostrobothnia · 16 km² burned
One of the largest forest fires in Finland after the war, with about 1,600 hectares burned.
Kompedal Plantation fire
1947 · Central Jutland · 16 km² burned
The largest forest fire in Denmark in recent times. Ammunition left behind from German exercises in the Second World War, including unexploded shells, started the fire. It lasted around 48 hours and destroyed almost half the plantation.
Flatanger fire
27–29 January 2014 · Flatanger, Trøndelag · 15 km² burned
Kvinesheia forest fire
9–10 April 2003 · Kvinesdal, Agder · 15 km² burned
Frøya fire
29–30 January 2014 · Frøya, Trøndelag · 11 km² burned
Sotra fire of 2021
3–14 June 2021 · Øygarden, Vestland · 10 km² burned
Femsjø fire
15–21 July 1911 · Halden, Østfold · 10 km² burned
Gotland forest fire (Torsburgen)
9 July 1992 · Kräklingbo, Gotland · 10 km² burned
The fire started early in the morning in the south of Torsburgen, one of Europe's largest ancient hillforts, after an unusually warm, dry early summer. A fresh southerly wind turned it into a crown fire with a two-kilometre front. It became the largest rescue operation in modern Gotland history.
Vännebo forest fire
10–13 June 2008 · Ludvika, Dalarna · 8 km² burned
A controlled burn of a clear-cut got out of control and became Sweden's largest forest fire that year. The burned area was about six kilometres long, and large areas of young forest were destroyed.
Utsjoki fire
1959 · Utsjoki, Lapland · 8 km² burned
A fire in the far north of Finland, in the same dry summer as the Isojoki–Honkajoki fire. About 800 hectares burned.
Rantsila fire
1969 · Siikalatva (formerly Rantsila), North Ostrobothnia · 6.5 km² burned
About 650 hectares burned in Rantsila in 1969.
Laitila fire
1955 · Laitila, Southwest Finland · 5 km² burned
About 500 hectares burned in Laitila in south-western Finland.
Liminka fire
1970 · Liminka, North Ostrobothnia · 5 km² burned
About 500 hectares burned, the same year as the Kalajoki fire.
Fáskrúðarbakki grass fire
May 2015 · Snæfellsnes · 3.19 km² burned
One of the largest vegetation fires in Iceland, with 319 hectares burned. Such fires usually start in dry grass in spring.
Muhos fire
2020 · Muhos, North Ostrobothnia · 2.5 km² burned
About 250 hectares burned, one of the largest forest fires in Finland in recent times.
Kalajoki fire of 2021
2021 · Kalajoki, North Ostrobothnia · 2.27 km² burned
The fire was first reported as the largest in Finland in decades, but a new survey showed 227 hectares.
Inari fire
1972 · Inari, Lapland · 2 km² burned
About 200 hectares burned in Inari in Lapland.
Tammela fire
1997 · Tammela, Tavastia Proper · 2 km² burned
About 200 hectares burned in Tammela in southern Finland.
Tranum and Rødhus Plantation fire
July 1992 · Jammerbugt, south of Blokhus · 2 km² burned
200 hectares burned in the plantations south of Blokhus, and the smoke could be seen from Aalborg Airport. 400 campers were evacuated.
Lieksa fire
1992 · Lieksa, North Karelia · 1.5 km² burned
About 150 hectares burned in Lieksa near the Russian border.
Laihia fire
1997 · Laihia, Ostrobothnia · 1.5 km² burned
About 150 hectares burned in Laihia in Ostrobothnia.
Stenbjerg Plantation fire
2004 · Thy · 1.5 km² burned
About 150 hectares burned in Stenbjerg Plantation in Thy, the same year as the fire in Kærgård Plantation.
Heiðmörk fire
4 May 2021 · Heiðmörk near Reykjavík · 0.61 km² burned
61 hectares of woodland and scrub burned in the Heiðmörk recreation area just outside Reykjavík.
Gyttegård Plantation fire
2011 · Hejnsvig near Billund · 0.3 km² burned
About 30 hectares of the 500-hectare plantation burned, mostly heath and bog. The fire was probably started by a cigarette butt.
Kærgård Plantation fire
June 2004 · Oksbøl, Varde · 0.15 km² burned
About 15 hectares burned, including part of the unusual oak scrub Store Løvklit. Some oaks died, while others sprouted again after the fire.
Klosterheden Plantation fire
2013 · Lemvig and Struer · 0.06 km² burned
A large wood chipper caught fire and started a 6-hectare fire in one of Denmark's largest plantations.