Saturday’s powerful storm caused damage across the entire territory managed by JSC “Latvijas valsts meži” (LVM). The worst-hit forests are in LVM’s Zemgale, South Latgale and North Latgale regions, while damage on the Kurzeme side is comparatively smaller. On first estimates, the volume of damaged trees could exceed 100 thousand cubic metres.

In places where occupational safety conditions allow it, LVM has been clearing forest roads of fallen and broken trees since Sunday. The clearing is being done together with logging service providers who have machinery suited to this work.

Explains Māris Bērziņš, Executive Director of Forest Management Planning at LVM:

“We will be able to establish the extent of the damage more precisely once the weather allows us to survey the areas safely on site in the forest and to use drones, which was not yet possible on Sunday because of the wind and rain.
We would draw attention to the fact that piles of fallen trees often contain trees under tension, which are extremely dangerous. We urge people to refrain from cutting up such piles of fallen trees on forest roads, and to report such places to the responsible LVM staff.”

LVM reminds the public: do not approach places where trees have fallen onto power lines, but report them to the responsible services!

Where a forest road can be safely cleared of individual trees, LVM reminds that under the law these trees must afterwards be left in the forest. The cut sections of the trees should be placed parallel to the road so that they do not obstruct traffic.