MOSCOW, August 6. /TASS/. Russia’s forest fires swelled to 143,500 hectares in the past day, the Aerial Forest Protection Service said in a statement on Saturday.

"A total of 126 forest fires engulfing 143,545 hectares were active in Russia as of midnight on August 6, 2022. Active efforts are underway to extinguish the blazes," the statement reads. As of Friday, the total size of Russian forest fires stood at 126,400 hectares.

The largest fires are burning in the Sakha Region (over 58,000 hectares), the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Region (about 54,800 hectares) and the Magadan Region (15,100 hectares).

Firefighting activities involve 4,224 personnel, 377 pieces of equipment and 21 aircraft. Another 74 aircraft are monitoring the fire situation. Fifty-five forest fires scorching more than 2,300 hectares were extinguished in Russia in the past 24 hours.