Vidzeme Rescuers Handle Fallen Trees and Minor Fires Over the Weekend
Latvia's State Fire and Rescue Service received 18 calls in the Vidzeme region between 9 and 12 October. Some involved wind-felled trees, and a house in Viresi parish filled with smoke.
The Vidzeme regional board of Latvia's State Fire and Rescue Service (VUGD) received 18 calls between 6:30 on 9 October and 6:30 on 12 October. Four concerned fires, 13 were rescue operations, and one turned out to be a false alarm. Across the country, the service received 144 calls in the same period: 35 for fires, 77 for rescue work and 32 false alarms.
Trees on roads
On Friday evening, two calls went to Skulte parish in Limbaži municipality, where trees had fallen onto roadways. Rescuers sawed the trees up and cleared the roads. On Saturday morning crews were called to the same parish again, where a broken tree threatened people's safety. On Monday morning a tree also fell onto a road in Plāņi parish, Valmiera municipality.
From Friday into early Saturday, the single emergency number 112 received 38 reports of wind damage, mostly about trees blocking or obstructing traffic. Of these, 20 came from Kurzeme, six from the city of Riga, five from the Riga region, four from Vidzeme and three from Zemgale.
Smoke and fires
On Saturday shortly before 16:30, smoke filled a single-storey home in Viresi parish, Smiltene municipality, while a heating appliance was being used. Three people left the house before firefighters arrived, and the rescuers found no burning.
On Saturday evening an electricity pole burned over 0.2 m² in Jaunalūksne parish, Alūksne municipality. At 3:24 on Sunday, an electrical cabinet burned over 0.5 m² in the ground-floor stairwell of a five-storey apartment building on Linarda Laicena Street in Valmiera. By the time rescuers arrived the fire was out but smoke remained, and 22 people were evacuated. Work at the scene ended at 4:32.
On Sunday at 21:19, a battery and wooden structures burned over 6 m² in an open area in Vaive parish, Cēsis municipality; the fire was extinguished at 22:31. At 2:32 on Monday, a single-storey summer house and terrace burned over 55 m² in Pāle parish, Limbaži municipality. Volunteer firefighters from Ainaži and Korģene helped, and the fire was put out at 4:31.
