It was during the move to the winter grazing land a couple of weeks ago that the reindeer herder Laara Gråik was met by a sight he had never seen before.

The recent heavy snowfall had broken a hundred pine trees in the pasture in the forest where his reindeer stayed overnight.

- I was horrified, it could have gone really badly.

They have been locked up in the belief that they are being protected, says Laara Gråik.

One reindeer died - several injured

One reindeer was found dead and another pinned alive under a tree.

Several reindeer in the pasture were lame.

The trapped reindeer is injured and now undergoing rehabilitation.

- We hope she survives, says Inger-Helene Gråik, chairman of Jijnjevaerie Sami village.

Never experienced this before

The pines that were broken had trunks of 20-30 cm in diameter.

According to the forest owner SCA, the phenomenon is called snow breaking.

It happens sometimes but rarely to this extent.

However, it has become more common during milder winters such as the winter of 2021 and now this year.

- There has been quite a lot of wet snow in a short time and it builds up a mass of snow and weight in the trees.

They become like bows when they are very heavy with snow, says Ola Kårén, head of Business development forest & management at SCA.

According to him, this also means risks for people.

- It is very dangerous to be out in the forest when we have this type of situation.

It can crash at any time.

Skogsbolaget: "Samebyn's responsibility"

The Sami village contacted the forest company, which gave them the right to clear the trees to prevent it from happening again.

They are subsequently satisfied with the collaboration.

Could you have done something differently from the start? 

- Yes, if we had been asked earlier, we would of course have said yes then as well, but it is very difficult to do more than that, says Ola Kårén at SCA.

He continues:

- It is our land, but it is the Sami village that has the right to use and dispose of it.

At this point, they asked the landowners for permission if they need to take down trees within a paddock like this or outside.

The responsibility to ask the question lies with the Sami village.