Norway’s largest fire in over a century brought under control after 5 days

Norway’s largest fire of its kind in more than a century was brought under control Tuesday after a five-day operation involving firefighters, police, the military and hundreds of Civil Defense personnel.

The fire broke out Friday afternoon in Krokstadelva, located in the Drammen municipality, destroying more than 100 homes and forcing over 400 residents to evacuate, Norwegian daily VG reported.

“We have the fire in the residential area and in the forest area under control,” incident commander Espen Berge told reporters.

Although no open flames remain, intense heat persists beneath the ground in the residential and forested areas, requiring emergency crews to continue operations.

“This means that we have to commit to a longer effort. It will take time before we can withdraw from this area, but we have control,” Berge said.

Fire crews have secured containment lines around the affected areas and established a dedicated local response unit to monitor and extinguish possible hot spots.

Helicopter support has been reduced from two aircraft to one, although an additional helicopter remains available if needed.

More than 300 Norwegian Civil Defense personnel participated in the response, including many who were recalled from vacation. The armed forces, police and fire departments also joined the operation.

No people have been reported missing, but several pets that fled into nearby woodland remain unaccounted for.

Police warned residents against crossing security barriers to search for the animals, stressing that parts of the site remain dangerously hot.

Forensic investigators have not yet entered the area due to the extreme heat. Police said they have an initial assessment of where the fire began but have not determined its cause.

Authorities have interviewed witnesses and collected photographs and videos while considering all possible causes.

Temperatures in Drammen were forecast to reach 28C (82.4F) on Tuesday, raising the risk of wildfires after an extended dry period. Around 800,000 liters 211,338 gallons) of water had been used by Saturday morning.