Smoke rises above burning houses in the village of Krokstadelva in Drammen, Norway
Norwegian authorities said on Saturday that at least 100 homes were destroyed and hundreds of residents were forced to evacuate after a massive fire swept through the city of Drammen in southern Norway.
This fire, in the area located about 34 kilometers southwest of the capital, Oslo, is the largest in the country’s history, according to the authorities.A video clip circulated on social media showed flames sweeping through homes as smoke rose.
The fire broke out in a detached house at around 3.30pm local time on Friday before quickly spreading to neighboring homes and nearby forest areas. Firefighters continued to work until Saturday to control the fire.More than 80 firefighters are working to extinguish the fire, while helicopters were deployed to extinguish the fire with water. Drammen resident Finn Ruen told Sky News: “I received a phone call from my daughter saying that three apartment blocks below were on fire. A few minutes later, my son and I came here to see what was happening.”“When we got here, it looked brighter because the fire was at the bottom, but it spread incredibly quickly.
Then we saw the flames taking row after row of houses. Then I saw my daughter’s house. It’s burned now, and it’s still burning. “There are still flames there,” he added.The Norwegian Civil Protection Directorate described the incident as the largest residential fire in the country’s modern history.According to public broadcaster NRK, hundreds of people took refuge in an evacuation center while emergency services battled the fire. Police said no residents were reported missing. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
