It has been chaotic during a short period of time tonight. At 1 o'clock, we started getting several automatic fire alarms that we assume are related to the bad weather and three buildings have burned and there are signs that those fires were caused by lightning strikes, says Emil Berggren, alarm and management officer at the rescue service.
A smaller outbuilding just outside Gävle burned heavily when the rescue service arrived at the scene. The building is expected to burn down to the ground.
A villa was saved thanks to good efforts by private individuals, but an outbuilding in the vicinity will probably also burn down, says Emil Berggren.
The persistent rain subsided around 3 o'clock, but the Rescue Service expects more deployments before the night is over.
We are working hard here. The bad weather is moving towards Uppland and we expect something similar there. There has been good pressure on the thunderstorm and also, it is so wet on the roads that it is difficult to get through all the water. I really recommend that you stay indoors if you can, says Emil Berggren.
According to the police, several vehicles have been affected by water planing during the night.
It has been some, but nothing serious, no one has been injured, says Joel Manner, officer at police region Mitt.
