Fire Sparked by Cheese Closes Down Norwegian Tunnel - East Idaho News
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Fire Sparked by Cheese Closes Down Norwegian Tunnel

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GETTY W 12313 NorwayCheese?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1358937725161iStockphoto/Thinkstock(OSLO, Norway) — A tunnel in Norway has been closed for the past five days, after nearly 30 tons of a delicacy cheese spontaneously burst into flames. The sweet brown cheese, known as Brunost, is apparently highly combustible.

Police spokesman Viggo Berg tells the Norwegian broadcaster NRK that the cheese’s high concentration of sugar and fat can make it burn “almost like petrol if it gets hot enough.” 

And burn it did: The cheese-fueled fire raged for days, injuring no one, but causing heavy damage to the Brattli tunnel in its wake.

The structure won’t be reopened until engineers determine it’s safe to do so.

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