Dozens of Human-Caused Wildfires Break Out in Pirkanmaa

More than a dozen grass and brush fires broke out across Pirkanmaa on Saturday, with multiple alerts reaching the region's rescue department by mid-afternoon.

Pirkkala saw two separate blazes in the afternoon: the rescue department received the first alert at 13:48 and a second at 15:10. On Rintakoskentie in Sionkylä, a small patch of grass ignited shortly after 15:00 after garden waste was burned, on-duty fire chief Eetu Räsänen said. Crews had earlier extinguished a fire at a shooting range on Varuskunnantie.

Räsänen said almost all of the incidents were started by people burning waste or other human activities. The fires were usually brought under control by the first unit on scene, though multiple units were dispatched as a precaution.

There is no forest fire warning for today, but one will be in force tomorrow. Officials urged residents to refrain from burning rubbish now because dry grass and hay can catch and spread fire rapidly; open fires will be banned tomorrow.