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Couple illegally living in forest yurt go undetected for 4 years

The Local
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Couple illegally living in forest yurt go undetected for 4 years
Archive photo of an unrelated yurt in France. Photo: Nicolas Tucat/AFP.

For four years, the couple lived a pleasant life, undetected in their yurt home with a wood oven, surrounded by trees and wildlife. Until a forest ranger found them.

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A young artist couple thought they had an idyllic home along a creek in the forest near Lutry in the canton of Vaud.

But forest officials have given them the boot after a ranger finally stumbled upon them four years too late, declaring their quaint abode illegal, 20 Minuten reported on Friday.

"When I heard about it, I was flabbergasted," said local councilman Pierre-Alexandre Schlaeppi to 20 Minuten.

The residence was apparently a violation three times over: First, because all house structures are forbidden inside of the forest, as well as within a radius of ten meters.

Second, because it was outside the zone for building any kind of structure.

And third, even if the structure had been allowed there, the couple had never informed the proper authorities.

How did the couple go unnoticed for so long?

"There are 125,000 hectars of forest in the canton of Vaud," said the canton's forest inspection director, Jean-François Métraux. "We can't know what's happening behind every bush."

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