MOSCOW, July 19. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has been briefed about the explosions at a military range in Crimea that caused officials to halt traffic on the Tavrida highway, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitriy Peskov told reporters.

"Of course, the president has been apprised of this. [Crimea head Sergey] Aksyonov reacted very quickly. We know that there was a fire there. Emergency measures are being taken. The situation is being clarified," he said.

Aksyonov said on Wednesday morning that a fire had erupted at a military range in Crimea’s Kirovsky District, which prompted officials to shut down a section of the Tavrida highway. No casualties have been reported in the incident. A task force has been created to extinguish the fire. There are plans to evacuate more than 2,200 people from some of the surrounding villages. The evacuated residents are set to be taken to two temporary accommodation centers that were set up at schools in the settlements of Pervomaiskoye and Kirovskoye. The first group of evacuees has already arrived in Kirovskoye.