A windy start to 2019

The new year got off to a windy start, quite literally. Storm Alfrida struck the country hard and left marks that are still visible. But it is important to be careful in the clean-up work.
– Working in a storm-damaged forest is the most dangerous forestry work there is, says Jahn Edlund, sales representative at Terri.

The year was only a few hours old when Storm Alfrida reached Sweden. The intense low-pressure system came all the way from Iceland and brought new wind records in Finland, among other things. The worst affected area in Sweden was Stockholm County, and above all Norrtälje.
– In total, it is about 550,000 cubic metres of forest that has been felled as a result of the storm, and that is a great deal. Two weeks after the storm, 4,000 households were still without power, says Jahn Edlund, who works in the district.

The effects of the storm are very significant, says Jahn Edlund, comparing it with Storm Jan, which just days later recorded equally high wind speeds in Norrland. The difference was that Storm Jan did not bring down any forest at all.

For forest owners in the areas where Storm Alfrida has raged, this means a lot of processing of the timber that has been knocked to the ground. Most of it will become pulpwood, as the trees are not good enough for sawlogs.
– It has to be dealt with before Midsummer. If the trees lie in the forest longer, they will be ruined. But you have to be careful when you go out into a storm-damaged forest, says Jahn.

Leaving the trees where they are is not a solution. The trees lie under tension across each other and on power lines. There is a risk that they will be thrown straight up into the air, which can be life-threatening.
– Many people naturally think there is no danger. But working in a storm-damaged forest is the most dangerous forestry work there is.
– The trees can move uncontrollably when they are under tension against each other. Fortunately, there are very good machines to work with. But as you process the trees, you have to get the timber out. As a result of the storm, I have already noticed that interest in small and agile forest machines has increased, says Jahn Edlund.