Firefighters have extinguished over 20 wildfires that have emerged in the Russian Far East in the past twenty-four hours and are still battling ten forest fires in the area, Russia’s Emergencies Ministry said on Sunday.
“Over the past twenty-four hours, 31 wildfires have been registered in the Far Eastern Federal District on a total area of 811.8 hectares. Twenty-one fires on an area of 700.8 hectares have been extinguished,” the ministry said, adding that ten wildfires were still raging on an area of 111 hectares.
All the fires have emerged far from populated areas and pose no threat to people and enterprises. Over 400 persons and 73 pieces of machinery are involved in the fire-extinguishing effort, the ministry said.
In the summer of 2010, an enormous heat wave in Central Russia caused massive wildfires across the country, which killed 62 people and left thousands homeless.
VLADIVOSTOK, May 1 (RIA Novosti)