KRASNOYARSK, June 22 (Itar-Tass) — The total area of wildfires is sweepingly spreading in the Krasnoyarsk territory. The territory embraced with forest fires grew by more than 1,500 hectares less than 24 hours. According to the recent data, forest fires area raging on the territory of 7,167 hectares as of 13.00 Moscow time on Friday, of them six large fires are in the north and east of the region.
In the Boguchany district, fire-fighters are suppressing three large woodland fires, which embraced the area of 3,450 hectares, an official at the Territorial Forest Fire Protection Centre told Itar-Tass. Another two large forests are raging in an area of 680 hectares in the Severo-Yeniseisky district. The same territory is embraced with fires in the Kezhem district.
The biggest part of forest fires (6,962 hectares) is located in the zone inaccessible to people and machinery, but only to aircraft, which complicates the fire extinguishing.
The most complicated fire – crown fire – is raging on 488 hectares of taiga. Almost 2,000 people, hardware and 23 aircraft were involved in the fire-fighting operations.
“There is no fire threat to population areas,” an official at the Territorial Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry said, adding, “Preliminary results show that forest fires were mainly caused by dry thunderstorms.”
Besides, the Federal Forestry Agency deploys additionally a reserve team of 80 paratroopers from the Aerial Forest Protection Service to the Krasnoyarsk territory, the press service of the Russian Forestry Service said. The paratroopers were involved in the fire-fighting operations in Tyva, which made it possible to stabilise the situation in the republic.
The Forestry Service forecasts a higher class of fire danger in the Krasnoyarsk territory within the next three days.