diff --git a/icefall/utils.py b/icefall/utils.py
index c9045006d..b38574f0c 100644
--- a/icefall/utils.py
+++ b/icefall/utils.py
@@ -131,7 +131,6 @@ def setup_logger(
         format=formatter,
         level=level,
         filemode="w",
-        force=True,
     )
     if use_console:
         console = logging.StreamHandler()