PETROZAVODSK, July 21. /TASS/. A state of emergency has been declared in Russia’s Karelia region due to large-scale forest fires, a spokesperson for the regional government told TASS.

"A state of emergency has been declared in Karelia," she said.

A state of high alert for forest fires was declared in the region on July 14. According to the latest data, 38 forest fires engulfing 7,110 hectares are active in Karelia, of which 15 fires have been contained on 1,001 hectares. As many as 600 people have been evacuated.

Karelia’s head Artur Parfyonchikov said on the VKontakte social media network that the region was facing a level four risk of wildfires (with level five being the highest). The move to declare a regional state of emergency will make it possible to promptly allocate budget funds to suppress pockets of wildfires. "This decision will allow the regional government, state agencies and municipal authorities to avoid bureaucratic formalities when allocating resources to combat the blazes," Parfyonchikov wrote.

A state of emergency over wildfires is also in effect in another ten Russian regions, including the Chelyabinsk and Sakha regions.