Wildfires contained in Inari municipality, Finland, as rescue efforts continue

Wildfires in the Inari municipality have been brought under control, according to Markus Aarto, the duty chief of the Lapland Rescue Department. “By Thursday evening, we had the situation quite well managed. There are still some residual smoldering areas, but we have certainly managed to prevent further spread,” Aarto stated.

During the night between Thursday and Friday, the rescue department designated firefighters primarily for monitoring the burned areas due to darkness and safety concerns. Aarto mentioned that efforts will commence on Friday morning to extinguish any remaining embers to eliminate smoke completely, stating, “This day will likely be spent on that task.”

By Friday, firefighters are expected to enter the post-extinguishing phase, where they will clear and put out individual smoke spots from the fire area. Once the fire zone is completely extinguished, responsibility will shift to the Finnish Forest Administration for post-monitoring. “Resource availability is currently good, with personnel from Kainuu and North Ostrobothnia, as well as our own staff on site. A replacement crew from North Ostrobothnia and the Lapland Rescue Department is arriving around noon to relieve those who have been on site for 24 hours,” Aarto added.

In a separate incident, the Jänispää fire was almost contained before it could spread, thanks to hiker Veli-Matti Lehtonen and his wife, who attempted to extinguish the blaze early on. Lehtonen remarked that he had no backpack or adequate tools, relying only on a small pocket knife. He speculated that a careless smoker may have ignited the fire, as he found no evidence of a campfire or lightning strikes. Aarto suggested that human involvement is likely in the cause of the three fires but emphasized that this is just an informed assumption at this stage. He added that it is extremely rare to have three wildfires in the same municipality in mid-September, given the exceedingly dry conditions in Upper Lapland.