Firefighters put out half of wildfires raging in Russia’s Far East

Firefighters extinguished 10 wildfires in the Russian Far East in the past twenty-four hours, but are still battling 10 more forest fires in the area, a spokesman for the regional Emergencies Ministry’s department said on Saturday.

“Ten forest fires continue raging on Saturday in four Far Eastern regions, which are Yakutia, Khabarovsk Territory, the Magadansk Region and Chukotka, covering a total area of 19.1 hectares,” the spokesman said.

Over 320 people and 44 units of mechanized rescue equipment, including 10 aircraft, are involved in the firefighting effort, he 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.

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