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Nearly 2,000 people fighting forest fires near Bratsk

There are 13 fires in the area at present, six of them are localized, the press service of the Russian Emergencies Ministry's told

KRASNOYARSK, October 4 (Itar-Tass) — The strength of the force fighting forest fires in the Bratsk district, the Irkutsk Region, is increased to 1,863 people. They use 58 units of machines.

There are 13 fires in the area at present. Six of them are localized, the press service of the Russian Emergencies Ministry's Siberian regional centre told Itar-Tass on Tuesday.

In addition, 80 specialists of airborne fire-fighting forces -- 50 people from Yakutia and 30 from Moscow arrive in the Bratsk district this Tuesday.

One hundred and eighteen people more from the Irkutsk police department will patrol the areas.

Four aircraft -- an Il-76 plane, two Mi-8 helicopters and a Mi-26 helicopter -- are on duty in the area, the press service said.

The city's education department cancels school classes this Tuesday, but schools will be opened for children not to be left unattended. Children will have additional classes, food and health protection means, a source at the regional EMERCOM centre said.

After it rained in Bratsk for short time on Monday evening, the air is fresher, but the smell of smoke remains. School classes are not resumed, a source at the municipal centre for civil defence and protection of the population and the territory in emergencies told Itar-Tass on Tuesday.

It did not rain in the city since mid-September. The temperature rose to 20 degrees and higher. The weather complicated the situation.

The shortage of precipitation (20-30 percent of the monthly level) and the high inflammability are natural factors that contributed to the fire spread in the Bratsk forest zone, and they were combined with a human factor, specialists at the Irkutsk regional meteorological and environment monitoring department told Itar-Tass, explaining the situation in the Baikal region's second largest city.

Though all the fires are extinguished in Bratsk, some continue burning near the city. There are eleven fire outbreaks on a total area of about 2,000 ha. Six of them are localized.

According to the forecast of meteorologists, the weather will sharply change on the weekend.

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