Firefighters and rescuers in Russia’s Far East extinguished eight forest fires over the past 24 hours and continue battling 10 more forest fires, a spokesman for the regional emergencies ministry said on Tuesday.
“A total of 18 forest fires were registered in the past 24 hours; eight of them were extinguished and four more localized,” the spokesman said.
The remaining forest fires had spread over the total area of about 5.49 hectares, the ministry added.
Wildfires in forested regions of Russia are common during the dry and hot summer season. Most of the time, the fires start because of the careless behavior of local residents in the woods.
Forest fires devastated a number of regions in central Russia last summer, killing 62 people and leaving thousands homeless.