Extreme drought and an impending heat wave have led SMHI to warn of extreme fire risk in large parts of the country. The first forest fires of the year have already begun to occur, and experts warn of a dangerous summer.

SVT's meteorologist also warns of a great fire risk in almost the entire country, but dares to hope for some rain at the beginning of next week.

"The high pressure that is giving us this dry weather is weakening a bit, letting in some more showery weather. But in general, it's still very dry," he says.

It's already burning

In the last few weeks alone, several fires have started in forests around the country. So far, it has not become as heavy as during the fire summers of 2014 and 2018, but the dry ground has caused fires around Härnösand, Falun and Alsterbro, among others.

This week, a 25-hectare forest area south of Åkers styckebruk also burned.

The expert: "No sparks in the forest"

Forest fire expert Annie Johansson explains how the rescue service tries to prevent the fires.

Annie Johansson is a forest fire specialist and trains rescue service personnel. She believes that Sweden is more prepared to fight forest fires than we were five years ago, but that the concern always remains.

– Use a big scoop of common sense. There should be no sparks whatsoever in the forest," she says.

Javascript is disabled

Javascript must be turned on to play video

Learn more about browser support

Forest fire expert: We have learned this since the fire summers of 2014 and 2018.