MOSCOW, April 18. /TASS/. The highest risk of forest fires outbreak in late April - early May is possible in eight Ural, Siberian, and Far Eastern regions of Russia, the press service of the Federal Agency for Forestry said.

"The average five-year indicators of fire frequency in Russian regions reveal that the greatest risks of forest fires occurrence in late April - early May are registered in Sverdlovsk, Amur, Irkutsk, Kurgan and Tyumen Regions, the Jewish Autonomous Region, Khabarovsk and Trans-Baikal Regions. These regions account exactly for the majority of spring forest fires, and the Federal Agency for Forestry pays therefore special attention to them. In case of necessity, interregional and federal forces will be directed to these regions to help with fire containment," the press service said.

The number of forest fires is the highest in spring and summer, the agency said. 90% of spring forest fires annually are man-caused. These are predominantly related to fire mishandling, poorly extinguished bonfires, sparks of malfunctioning machinery and grass burn-out on fields and near gardening plots.