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Wildfires rage in Russia’s east, swell to over 9,000 hectares in Siberia

IRKUTSK, June 14. /TASS/. Wildfires raging through Siberia have swelled by more than 2,000 ha over the past 24 hours engulfing 9,200 ha, the Russian Aerial Forest Protection Service reported on Wednesday.

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Siberia’s forest fires quadruple to engulf 30,000 hectares

The Irkutsk Region and the Transbaikal Territory are among the worst-hit areas, according to the service.

"Wildfires in the Transbaikal Territory have almost doubled (in one day) from 1,900 to 3,700 ha, and swelled in the Irkutsk Region by 600 ha to 4,600 ha, and in Buryatia to 580 ha. In the Krasnoyarsk Territory, the wildfire area shrank from 344 ha to 260 ha," the press service said.

Wildfires are relatively calm in Russia’s Far East. Nearly 300 ha are on fire in the Amur Region, and another 20 ha are engulfed by blaze in Yakutia, the Magadan Region, Kamchatka and the Khabarovsk Territory.

Major wildfires

At the moment, Siberia’s largest wildfire is raging across the Irkutsk Region, where 3,700 ha of the taiga forests caught fire in the Kachugsky district during the thunderstorms.

Some 43 personnel of the airborne troops and six members of the Aerial Forest Protection Service are battling the blaze. More than 150 people, including 70 smoke-jumpers, and 24 pieces of equipment are involved in the effort to detect the fire sources.

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