Google illegally cut down 250K trees in Finland for data center

See more of our coverage in your search results. Google illegally demolished an estimated 250,000 trees in Finland to make way for a data center, leaving behind a lifeless mud wasteland that forced packs of wolves into a nearby town in search of food and infuriated locals, according to a report. The tech super giant – continuing its expansion of the booming artificial intelligence industry – cleared 816 acres of woodlands in Northern Finland, The Guardian reported Thursday. Google is accused of removing the trees and clearing the land before it had full approval — as Finnish law requires companies to complete a mandatory Environmental Impact Assessment before large-scale operations. Finnish officials, outraged by the mass destruction, suspended all development at two of Google’s data center sites to assess the environmental impact. An aerial view shows the site where a Google data center is set to be built in Muhos, Finland, on Sept. 29, 2026. AFP via Getty Images The operation took place outside the rural town of Muhos — southeast of Finland’s fifth-largest city, Oulu — as devastating images of the aftermath captured the vast barren land filled only with tire tracks, muddy puddles and mounds of dirt. The removal of the large area of trees destroyed the wildlife in the forest, leaving predators like wolves to search for food closer to human developments in the village of Otanmäki, 50 miles from the site. “We had wolves coming into the village because all the wild animals moved out of the forest,” resident Anni Ranta told the Guardian. “They fled. What worries me about the data centers is also the noise because this is hard rock soil. Even when we are standing here talking,” she added, comparing the sound to a drum. Angry residents called out Google, asking for reprieve from the company to help repay for losses the community sustained from previous tech expansions on the land. “It has been done in the wrong way. American style. No sense. No sense at all,” Muhos resident Antti Jakonen told the outlet, calling on the company to help restore the local salmon population that had been destroyed by hydropower years ago. The removal of the trees led to water sources flowing near the site to turn brown and pollute the streams. AFP via Getty Images The site earmarked for Google’s new data center is seen in Vaala, Finland on Sept. 29, 2026. AFP via Getty Images Ranta revealed she feared the construction of the data centers would be a perfect target for Russian …