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Medvedev to discuss Siberia forest fire-fighting in Tomsk

As on August 3 31 fires are raging on a total of 8,728.5 hectares in the Tomsk Region

Photo ITAR-TASS

Photo ITAR-TASS

MOSCOW, August 6 (Itar-Tass) —— During his working trip to the Siberian Federal District Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev will visit Tomsk on Monday. Medvedev will hold a meeting in the city to discuss a tense fire situation, which emerged in the federal constituent territories, which were exposed to the impact of abnormal high temperatures in 2012. The premier intends to discuss in detail the measures to localize and extinguish the forest fires in the region and the situation in several neighbouring regions in the federal district, the governmental press service reported on Sunday.

Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich, Minister of Emergency Situations Vladimir Puchkov, Health Minister Veronika Skvortsova, Russian Presidential Representative in the Siberian Federal District Viktor Tolokonsky, several governors, heads of the districts in the region and representatives of the agencies concerned will participate in the meeting.

Over the fact that small aircraft cannot be used for fire-fighting, on June 26 Medvedev instructed the Ministry of Emergency Situations to dispatch heavy aircraft to fight the forest fires. The heavy aviation began fighting the forest fires in the Tomsk Region since July.

As on August 3 31 fires are raging on a total of 8,728.5 hectares in the Tomsk Region. Eleven fires were localized on a total of 4,019.5 hectares. Some 4,531 people and 766 machines are involved in the cleanup of the emergency situation in the forests and the fire-fighting in the forests.

Amid the emergency situation the firemen focused on the protection of settlements, economic and infrastructure facilities from the forest fires spreading on them. No threat exists to the settlements and infrastructure sites.

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