Øygarden municipality in Norway reported multiple fires Saturday, including one involving an excavator and several controlled heather burns, leading to significant smoke and a university advisory for staff to work from home. The 110 emergency center confirmed no injuries from the incidents but acknowledged the visible smoke plumes affecting air quality in the region. This series of events unfolded against a backdrop of an official yellow-level danger warning for vegetation fires across Vestlandet.
Fire in Excavator and Controlled Burns
Emergency services received the first report of a fire in an excavator in Øygarden. Tore Fanebust at the 110 center confirmed the incident but stressed there were no reported personal injuries. 'The fire department is on the way to the site,' Fanebust stated in an initial update. Concurrently, from around noon on Saturday, the center fielded numerous reports of fires in open terrain within the municipality. Fanebust clarified these were the result of permitted activities. 'It is local people who have permission for heather burning. They are burning off old heather in the area,' he explained, specifying the locations as the Ørnafjellet area in Fjell and at Oksneset. He assured that while the fires were highly visible, authorities maintained good contact with those conducting the burns and the situation was under control. One specific heather fire was reported to cover an area of 30 by 30 meters. 'We have started extinguishing and are damping the area,' Fanebust said later, adding there was no danger of further spread.
University Responds to Deteriorating Air
The significant smoke output from these fires prompted a direct institutional response in nearby Bergen. The University of Bergen issued a recommendation for all employees to work from home starting Monday due to poor air quality. The recommendation applies to staff who cannot walk, cycle, or use public transport to work and who do not have tasks requiring physical presence on campus. University Rector Margareth Hagen emphasized the request in a press release: 'We wish our employees to follow this appeal.' The advisory is to remain in effect until new information is provided by the municipal authorities. This move highlights the broader regional impact of localized burning practices, extending the incident's consequences beyond the immediate fire zones to affect urban work and health policies.
Official Wildfire Warning in Effect
The fires occurred on a day when the Meteorological Institute had an active yellow danger warning for forest and vegetation fires for Vestlandet. The warning stated there was a 'local grass and heather fire danger in snow-free areas until significant precipitation arrives.' It further cautioned that vegetation could be easily ignited and that large areas could be affected. This official warning provides critical context, indicating that current dry conditions significantly elevate fire risk, making even controlled burns a heightened concern. The warning underscores the fine balance between traditional land management practices, like heather burning to promote new growth, and contemporary environmental risk assessments during periods of elevated fire danger.
A Separate Legal Incident
In an unrelated event also reported by emergency services, a man in his 20s was arrested by police on Friday evening. He is suspected of violating a restraining order, as confirmed by the on-duty lawyer Merete Sundal. 'There is an aggrieved party,' Sundal stated. The man was expected to be questioned during Saturday, though a decision on whether he would be remanded in custody had not yet been made. This incident, while part of the broader log of emergency service activity, is separate from the fire-related events in Øygarden.