In August 1999, around 4.5 square kilometres of forest or ten per cent of the national park and nature reserve burnt down. It was over one and a half weeks before fire fighters brought the fire under control and it was even longer before it was completely extinguished. The fire in Tyresta National Park is a tragedy in many respects. At the same time, fires are a natural part of the change process in primeval forests and far from disastrous from an ecological point of view. Fire creates the conditions for the natural regeneration of the forest.
