Kalajoki wildfire reshapes firefighting and creates tourist attraction

Five years after a forest fire burned 227 hectares in Kalajoki, the area has turned green again and become a tourist destination, Yle reports. The blaze exposed shortcomings in firefighting operations, led to new conservation measures and changed life in the nearby village of Rautio.

The fire started on 26 July 2021 near the construction site of the Mutkalammi wind farm. Dry ground and gusting winds allowed it to spread rapidly. Peat soil smouldered for a long time, while the difficult terrain hampered firefighting.

At its worst, the fire developed into a dangerous firestorm and advanced at up to 20 metres per minute. Although it was contained and stopped after about a day, the flames reignited because of the wind and the dry, smouldering ground.

Firefighters were brought in from across Finland. About 1,500 people took part in extinguishing and supporting the operation over two weeks, while firefighting and monitoring work continued for roughly the same period.

Rautio residents watched the fire’s progress with concern, but the flames moved away from the village. Residents did not have to evacuate, and the village was not affected by smoke. The local school organised food distribution, while the fire station serviced firefighting equipment.

The operation revealed shortcomings in incident management, staffing and the availability of equipment. Kalle Kiviranta, a researcher at the Emergency Services Academy, said command during the fire was varied and inconsistent. Guidance and operating models for forest-fire situations have since been harmonised.

The long operation also stretched staffing to its limits. Firefighters worked for long periods without breaks, with the longest shifts lasting more than 10 hours.

Another change concerns protective clothing. During the Kalajoki fire, firefighters wore heavy equipment designed for structural fires. In difficult terrain, this increased the risk of accidents, physical strain and exposure to smoke and other harmful substances. Fire departments have since been given recommendations for lighter clothing based on layered dress.

The burned forest still stands out clearly in the landscape, but the fire also created new nature values. The Kalajoki parish, which owned most of the burned forest, has protected 106 hectares of the area for 20 years. Two private forest owners have protected a further six hectares.

A cycling network has been built in the burned forest, turning the area into a tourist attraction. The fire was Finland’s second-largest forest fire of the 2000s, after a slightly larger blaze in Muhos in 2020.

A wind farm employee was fined by a district court for careless handling of fire, but the Court of Appeal rejected the charges because the cause of the fire could not be established with complete certainty.