Siberian wildfires shrink by 5,500 hectares amid rain
NOVOSIBIRSK. Aug 2 (Interfax) - Forest fires in the Siberian Federal District shrank from 23,100 to 17,600 hectares over the past day, the District Forest Department reported on Thursday.
The department, Avialesookhrana and regional authorities put out 62 forest fires on more than 16,500 hectares, including nine large fires on 15,100 hectares, the department said.
Nineteen forest fires on more than 3,000 hectares were confined, including seven large fires on over 1,700 hectares. The fire passed through 11,500 hectares, including 10,800 hectares of forests, over the past day.
A total of 2,947 people, among them 362 Avialesookhrana federal reserve specialists, 361 fire trucks and 23 aircraft were putting out the blaze.
The fires are burning in the Krasnoyarsk territory, the Tomsk region and Tuva.
The main causes of the wildfires are agricultural burning, dry thunderstorms and neglect of fire safety rules. Forest guards call on local residents to mind fire safety and not build campfires in wrong places.
