Danes can celebrate Midsummer Eve without fire ban despite warm weather

Danes can look forward to celebrating Midsummer Eve with bonfires without facing a nationwide ban on open fires, according to Bjarne Nigaard, secretariat chief for Danish Emergency Preparedness.

Despite warm and dry weather conditions, Nigaard stated that the usual regulations for caution will apply. "The emergency services have of course taken stock of the situation and assessed that, even with knowledge of the weather forecasts and so on, it is the ordinary rules of caution that apply," he said on Tuesday. The responsibility for ensuring the safety of any bonfire rests with the person lighting it.

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The emergency services have of course taken stock of the situation and assessed that, even with knowledge of the weather forecasts and so on, it is the ordinary rules of caution that apply.

The island of Anholt in the Kattegat remains the only exception, where a permanent fire ban is in effect. While the Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI) has issued a heatwave warning for the end of the week, current fire risk levels are elevated in many parts of the country, including large areas of Funen, eastern Jutland, Zealand, and Lolland-Falster.

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The one who lights it takes the responsibility.

Nigaard emphasized that while conditions are warmer and drier than in some recent years, the situation is not comparable to extreme years like 2023, when widespread fire bans were implemented. "Of course, one can say that it is warmer and also drier and more flammable out there than it has been in some years," he noted, "But we are also not at a point where it is a year that completely stands out as extreme."

Emergency services typically respond to twice as many 112 calls on Midsummer Eve compared to an average evening in the same period, based on figures from the Danish Emergency Management Agency over the past five years. Nigaard urged the public to exercise caution and consult the emergency preparedness website for bonfire regulations.

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Of course, one can say that it is warmer and also drier and more flammable out there than it has been in some years. But we are also not at a point where it is a year that completely stands out as extreme.