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Military contain large forest fire engulfing 1,000 hectares in Siberia

YEKATERINBURG, July 5. /TASS/. The Central Military District servicemen and the military forestry officers have contained a large wildfire 95 km west of the town of Bratsk, Irkutsk Region, Central Military District Assistant Commander, Colonel Yarolsav Roshchupkin, said on Wednesday.

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Blaze-stricken Siberian areas expecting downpours that may quash fires

"The servicemen and the military forestry officers have contained a large wildfire 95 km west of the town of Bratsk, Irkutsk Region, that scorched over 1,000 hectares," Roschchupkin noted.

The railway brigade units and engineering equipment for earthwork operations were deployed from Abakan to Bratsk to fight fires. "In the less accessible taiga area, the units set up fire lines to contain fires that engulfed over 15,000 meters," the colonel specified.

According to the Central Military District, the military ground forces include over 70 servicemen and military foresters, as well as 20 equipment units, such as the Mi-8 helicopters of the Central Military District search and rescue air group operating from the Bratsk Airfield.

The small units’ activities are managed by the regional control center of the Central Military District headquarters in Yekaterinburg, where an overall monitoring of the fire situation in the Volga River basin, Ural and Siberia is conducted, along with cooperation with local authorities and small regional units of the Russian Emergencies Ministry.

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