A forest fire broke out in Skaņkalne parish, Valmiera municipality, on Sunday, 15 May, resulting in 18.18 ha of forest being burnt, mostly young growth. The State Forest Service extinguished the fire shortly before midnight on the same day. The exact cause of the fire is currently unknown, but available information suggests it may have been arson.

On 15 May at 17.57, the State Forest Service received a call from the State Fire and Rescue Service's operational duty officer regarding a forest fire in Purtilti, Skaņkalne parish, Valmiera municipality. Personnel from the State Forest Service, the State Fire and Rescue Service, and AS Latvijas valsts meži participated in the extinguishing efforts. The fire was successfully extinguished at 23.30 the same day.

18.18 ha of forest were burnt in the fire, with almost the entire burnt area consisting of young growth. 16.47 ha of the burnt area is state forest, and the remainder is private.

The forest fire started in three locations, and information available to the State Forest Service indicates that this could be a case of arson. The Service will pass the information to the State Police for further investigation of the circumstances.

This year, the State Forest Service has registered 170 forest fires. A total of 162 ha have been burnt, of which 54 ha were young growth.

Since 2 May, the fire-hazardous period in forests has been declared throughout the territory of Latvia. Every resident must comply with fire safety requirements while in the forest.

In forests and marshes it is prohibited to:

• drop burning or smouldering matches, cigarette ends, or other objects;

• light campfires, except in specifically designated areas that prevent the fire from spreading beyond that area;

• leave campfires unattended;

• burn waste;

• drive motor vehicles in forests and marshes off-road;

• perform any other activity that may cause a fire.