After an unusually hot start of summer in Scandinavia, a violent forest fire in northwestern Finland destroyed an area of more than 300 hectares.
The fire, which broke out on Monday about 25 kilometers south of the port of Kalajoki, could not be fully brought under control by Friday, the authorities said.
However, due to rainfall in the area, it has been contained.
"It will take at least a week, maybe two or three, until the fire is completely extinguished," said fire department chief Jarmo Haapanen.
Around 250 emergency services, including soldiers, took part in the extinguishing work.
No evacuations were necessary in the already sparsely populated area.
The cause of the fire is not known, said Haapanen.
After an unusually hot June and July with temperatures of more than 30 degrees in some regions, the forests are extremely dry.
"If the climate heats up our summers so much, I'm sure that this will happen more often in the future," said the head of operations.
Compared to the devastating forest fires in Siberia and Canada this summer, the fire in Finland is manageable.
Nevertheless, according to experts, it is the largest forest fire since 1971, when around 1,600 hectares burned down.
According to researchers, heat waves are becoming more common in the Arctic and near the polar circles due to climate change.
The warming there is three times as fast as in other parts of the world, which significantly increases the risk of forest and tundra fires.