Sweden experienced an unusually long heatwave and had only of rain from the beginning of May to late July. May 2018 was the warmest May and July 2018 was the warmest July ever recorded in Sweden. As of mid-July, temperatures in Scandinavia were more than above normal. Several of the fires were started by people using disposable barbecues, though bans on these were in place due to the weather conditions. Some were started by lightning strikes. Wildfires also occurred in the neighbouring countries Denmark, Finland and Norway, but no casualties due to wildfires were reported in Scandinavia.
Timeline
The first significant wildfires in Sweden were recorded in May, and by 23 July there were more than fifty, covering. The fires were distributed throughout much of Sweden, ranging from north of the Arctic Circle to the southernmost county of Scania. The largest areas lost to fire are in Gävleborg and Jämtland, each, followed by Dalarna at and Västernorrland at. Based on data from the last decade, the expected number of wildfires in July would be three. It is highly unusual for areas of this size to be affected by wildfires, but historically there have been larger, notably in 1888 where burned. Most affected areas in 2018 have relatively low human population densities, but it was still necessary to evacuate many people from several villages. In areas not under risk of fire but affected by smoke thousands of people were asked to stay indoors and close their windows. In addition to the country's firefighters and civilian volunteers, Sweden's armed forces were involved, mostly providing manpower and equipment such as helicopters. Locally the air force also used aerial bombings by JAS 39 Gripenfighter jets to make firebreaks and draw oxygen from the wildfires. By June, several fires were out of control and Sweden requested help from neighbouring countries and via the European Union's Civil Protection Mechanism. Sweden received help from Denmark, Estonia, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, and Portugal. In late July, Sweden received its first significant rain in months. Combined with firefighting, this meant that fires generally were reduced, although new ones continued to appear. This, along with the high risk of fire elsewhere in Europe, meant that firefighters from most countries had returned to their own countries by 30 July, although the Danish remained on active duty in Sweden into August. Some water bombing aircraft returned to their own countries, but others remained in Sweden.
2019
In March, several wildfires occurred in the south of Sweden. According to the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency, the risk of fire was unusually high for the time of year.
