SIMFEROPOL, July 19. /TASS/. The Tavrida highway that connects Crimean port of Kerch in the Sea of Azov and the city of Sevastopol on the peninsula’s Black Sea coast was closed due to a fire that broke out in the region’s Kirovsky district on Wednesday, Crimean head Sergey Aksyonov wrote on his Telegram channel.

"As a result of a fire that broke out at a site in the Kirovsky district, the Tavrida highway has been closed. An alternative car traffic route will be published shortly," he wrote.

His adviser Oleg Kryuchkov said the section between the highway’s 118th km and 130th km has been closed for traffic. "Vehicles are being redirected through regional roads, via the settlements of Stary Krym and Pervomaiskoye, or the Old Kerch Road," he added.

Later, Aksyonov wrote on Telegram that the temporary evacuation of around 2,000 people is planned from the Kirovsky District.

"Temporary evacuation of residents from four populated areas is planned. The number is around 2,000 people in total," he said.

A crisis center, headed by Aksyonov, has been set up in connection with the fire.

No disruptions were reported in the region’s ferry service with mainland Russia and its rail transportation network.

The 250.7-km Tavrida highway was designed to become the basic element of the peninsula’s new road system. The construction of the four-lane road began in 2017. Six of its stretches run on the territory of the Republic of Crimea, two - within the administrative borders of Sevastopol, the peninsula’s largest city, which is a separate constituent entity of Russia in the status of a federal city.