Firefighters and rescuers in Russia’s Far East extinguished four forest fires over the past 24 hours and continue battling 14 more forest fires, a spokesman for the regional emergencies ministry’s department said on Monday.
“As of 8:00 local time on Monday [21:00 GMT Sunday] 14 forest fires continue raging in the Far East covering an area of 18.28 hectares,” the spokesman said.
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.
Wildfires devastated a number of regions in central Russia last summer, killing 62 people and leaving thousands homeless.