Due to a very high fire hazard in forests and land, the County Administrative Board (Länsstyrelsen Norrbotten) has introduced a fire ban throughout Norrbotten County. The ban applies from July 17 at 8:00 and until further notice. The fire ban applies until the County Administrative Board announces that the ban has ended.
This is what the fire ban means
It is forbidden
to light fires and barbecue outdoors in forests and fields or in areas so close to forests that the fire can easily spread there. You may not use combustible materials such as firewood, charcoal, briquettes, grass, rice or branches for fires or barbecues.
You are allowed
- to have a barbecue on your own property - but only in a safe barbecue designed for the purpose. This only applies if you live in areas where houses and buildings are adjacent to each other or separated only by a road, street or parkland.
- to barbecue at fixed barbecue sites. A fixed barbecue area is a place that is built for barbecuing and is delimited by, for example, concrete pipes or stones. Around it, there should also be a wide ground surface with gravel or other fireproof material. Such a place is usually referred to as a "prepared barbecue area" ("grillplats" or "eldstad" in Swedish).
- to use camping kitchens, storm kitchens and the like if they are placed on a fireproof surface such as stone, gravel or sand.
Exceptions to the ban
The ban does not apply to controlled and supervised conservation burning for the purpose of promoting and maintaining high nature values.
Evaluated on an ongoing basis
Responsible authorities and community stakeholders are working together to manage the situation. We are monitoring forecasts to adapt the response.
How long does the fire ban last?
The fire ban is valid until further notice. The County Administrative Board ("Länsstyrelsen i Norrbottens län") will announce when the fire ban ends.
You are responsible
You are responsible if you start a fire. You can be fined if you violate the fire ban.
You are responsible for keeping up to date with the situation where you are and if it changes. You can find information about fire bans on the county administrative board's website, your municipality's website and on krisinformation.se.
"Brandrisk Ute", a free fire hazard app
The "Brandrisk Ute" (Fire Hazard Outdoors) app allows you to keep track of the fire risk in forests and fields and reduce the risk of starting grass and forest fires. It also teaches more about safe outdoor burning. The app is available for iPhone, iPad and Android, and it has an English language setting.