Firefighters are battling 34 wildfires in Siberia on an area of over 1,300 hectares, Russia’s Emergencies Ministry said on Sunday.
Over the last twenty-four hours, the area affected by the wildfires has increased by 838 hectares. The human factor is considered as the main cause for the emergence of forest fires, the ministry said.
The largest number of forest fires continues to be registered in the Irkutsk Region and Buryatia in East Siberia, and also in West Siberia, 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.
NOVOSIBIRSK, May 8 (RIA Novosti)