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Wildfires destroy 7,500 hectares of taiga in Russian Far East

In the Amur region, wildfires raged on the area of 4,096 hectares. Over the past 24 hours, 11 fires have been extinguished

VLADIVOSTOK, May 13. /TASS/. More than 60 wildfires have been registered over the past 24 hours in Russia’s Far Eastern Federal District, the total area affected by fire is 7,534 hectares, the press service of the regional Forestry Department has told TASS.

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Wildfires engulf thousands of hectares in Siberia, Far East, rains spare other regions

The largest number of fires has been registered in Khabarovsk Territory and the Amur region. In Khabarovsk Territory, 28 wildfires with a total area of 3,114 hectares have been registered over the past 24 hours. Special firefighting regime has been put in place in four districts. The situation is exacerbated by weather conditions - only small precipitation amounts are expected in the immediate future, after which dry weather will set in, meteorologists say.

In the Amur region, wildfires raged on the area of 4,096 hectares. Over the past 24 hours, 11 fires have been extinguished.

"We were able to cope with 28 fires within one day. A total of 1,266 people, 234 pieces of equipment and 11 aircraft were involved in firefighting efforts. The bulk of the workforce and means were used in the Amur region where the most difficult situation persists compared to other Far Eastern regions," the press service said.

The situation with wildfires in the Magadan region, the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic and Primorye (Maritime Territory) where there are isolated pockets of fire is less tense.

Overall, 646 forest fires with a total area of 76,900 hectares have been registered in the Far Eastern Federal District this year, which is more than in 2015 when 571 wildfires on the area of 172,600 hectares were registered within the same period of time.

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