KRASNODAR, July 16. /TASS/. Firefighters have extinguished a raging fire in the Abrau natural reserve near the city of Novorossiysk in southern Russia, a spokesperson for the regional forest fire center told TASS.

The fire, which broke out on Sunday, was contained at 62 hectares on Monday.

"There are no more raging blazes, but smoldering continues," the spokesperson said.

Sergey Altukhov, Russian lower house member representing the Krasnodar Region and deputy chairman of the chamber’s Committee on Economic Policy, told TASS that human impact had played a major role in the forest fire. "For many reasons, it was a human error. However, an investigation is ongoing," he said.

According to the regional crisis center, efforts continue to put out the forest fire near Novorossiysk; they involve 33 personnel and six pieces of equipment.

The fire broke out in the Abrau natural reserve on Sunday and later spread towards the Dyurso farming community, affecting vacation resorts. The blazes damaged 68 buildings and left two people injured, causing the evacuation of about 600 people.