300 evacuated due to fire in Norway

More than 300 people were evacuated from the island of Froya in Norway due to a brushfire sweeping through the villages on the island, officials said. The fire broke out Wednesday, destroying about 90 buildings in Hasvag and Smavaeret, forcing the evacuation of 33 residents from those villages, TheLocal.no reported. The fire spread to other villages on the island, including Flatanger, resulting in the total evacuation of 300 people. Some 130 police and firefighters battled the blaze. One building in Sistranda was destroyed. "It's been better tonight than we had feared. The wind has been kind to us, so it has been spreading less quickly and at a much lower intensity. We have managed to limit the spread north-eastwards," Reidar Stokke of the South Trondelag police said Thursday. The lack of rain in Norway since December along with intense cold and high winds likely made the region susceptible to fire, TheLocal.no reported.