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Forest fires in Russia's Kamchatka Region subside, shrinking by over 30,000 hectares

34 forest fires engulfing 162,000 hectares are active in the region

PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY, July 6. /TASS/. Forest fires in Russia’s Kamchatka region have shrunk from 195,000 hectares to 162,000 hectares as the result of the deployment of additional firefighting teams and recent rainfall, the region’s Acting Minister of Special Programs Sergei Khabarov said at a government meeting on Monday.

"Recent rainfall and the deployment of additional fire fighters allowed us to reduce the number of fire outbreaks. It is now possible to consider removing the regional state of emergency. As of today, 34 forest fires engulfing 162,000 hectares are active in the region. On July 5, there were a total of 50 fires scorching over 195,000 hectares," he pointed out.

The region’s Deputy Chief Forestry Inspector Alexei Yepishkov told TASS that the forest fire situation was the worst in the past 30 years. "Forests are burning because of hot weather, unusual for June, and dry thunderstorms. The tundra doesn’t recover quickly but nevertheless, the process goes on, while animals suffer a lot from the blazes. We hope for good rains to come soon, otherwise it will be difficult to extinguish fires in fir forests," he said.