GFMC: Forest Fires in the Russian Federation

Forest Fires Emergency in the Russian Federation

29 May 2003


GFMC General Situation Assessment  (22 May 2003)

GFMC analysis: According to the latest satellite-derived analysis the total area burned by 28 May 2003 in the Russian Federation is 14,08 million hectares (ha). For comparison: The total area burned of the whole fire season 2002 was 11.7 million ha (see references at bottom of this web page). The regions most affected are:

– Chitinskaya Oblast – 4.78 million ha

– Buryatiya Republic – 2.48 million ha

– Amurskaya Oblast – 2.68 million ha

Source: Sukachev Institute for Forest, Krasnoyarsk (A.Sukhinin), in cooperation with EMERKOM of Russia (Russian Ministry for Emergency Situations).

The Situation in the south of the Russian Federation has escalated in the last two weeks. Satellite images show hundreds of wildfires burning out of control. Severe smoke pollution is affecting Mongolia, eastern China and is stretching to the Pacific Ocean. See also updates of the previous days at:
https://gfmc.online/current/globalfire.htm

Latest Satellite Images:

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Satellite Terra
28 May 2003,
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True Color Satellite Terra
28 May 2003,
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7-2-1 Satellite Aqua
28 May 2003,
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true Color Satellite Aqua
28 May 2003,
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7-2-1

Fires in south eastern Russia
In south eastern Russia (near chinese border), scores of fires are burning. This Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) image from the Auqa and Terra satellite shows active fires marked with red dots. The fires are producing rivers of smoke which extend far to the south into China and have spread eastward over the Pacific Ocean.
Source: MODIS

Latest OSEI satellite image:

Heat signatures (red), burn scars (dark green to charcoal), and smoke (light blue haze) are visible from fires burning in Russia in this MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) image from the Aqua satellite.
Source: OSEI

Synoptic weather map for 28 May 2003 for the Russian Federation.

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 Source: Sukachev Institute for Forest, Krasnoyarsk

Avialesookhrana from the National Forest Fire Centre of Russia provides up-to-date NOAA images for the whole of the Russian Federation and neighbour territories. The Space Monitoring Information Support Laboratory provides extensive links to sites with satellite imagery for the Russian Federation, meteorological information as well as fire related images are accessible.

The NOAA AVHRR satellite image composite shows fire activities in the Russian Federation.

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Latest NOAA 12&14 AVHRR composite
The red squares indicate regions of active fires. For details the GFMC readers are encouraged to use the hyperlinks provided by Avialesookhrana, the Aerial Forest Fire Protection Service of the Federal Forest service of Russia.
(Source: Avialesookhrana cloudiness maps)

Latest fire situation report by the Aerial Forest Fire Protection Service of Russia (Avialesookhrana), 25  May 2003

For the last days fire activities retain still very severe in Chita region. For last weekend have increased number of fires in Irkutsk region.
According to the situation report of the Ministry of Natural Resources of 25 May 2003 a total of 475 fires affected 20,221 ha forested and 5,802 ha non-forested areas. 112 fires of them were reported as new fires, 59 of them in Irkutsk region. In addition 87 fires occurred that were put out the same day when they started.
Since the beginning of the 2003 fire season a total of 11,199 fires affected 591,889 ha forested and 189,807 ha non-forested land under the responsibility of the Ministry of Natural Resources. (For comparison: Last year up to this date 10,321 fires had burnt 279,969 ha forested and 156,897 ha non-forested lands.)

Most fires have been reported in the following regions:

  • Chita region – 119 fires

  • Buriatia – 31

  • Irkutsk – 192

  • Amur – 24

  • Khabarovsk-14

  • Krasnoiarsk-59

  • Large fires were reported in:

  • Amur-10 fires, the biggest is 3,000 ha.

  • Chita region – 88 fires, the biggest is 17,000 ha. 36 of them-are contained. 19 large fires were put out for last day.

  • Buriatia 7 fires, the biggest is 1,800 ha.

  • Altay 3 fires, the biggest is 1,800 ha.

  • Irkutsk -27 fires, the biggest is 550 ha.

  • Krasnoiarsk-8 fires, the biggest is 8,300 ha.

  • Khabarovsk-6, the biggest is 1,200 ha. All of them are contained.

Through all of Russia 5,802 people, 76 aircraft, 952 bulldozers, tractors and engines have been involved in fire fighting.

Source: Aerial Forest Fire Protection Service of Russia (Avialesookhrana)

Eurasian Experimental Fire Weather Information System
The system has been developed by forest fire researchers from Canada, Russia and Germany is displayed on this website starting 18 July 2001. Complete information and a set of daily fire weather and fire behaviour potential maps covering Eurasia (the Baltic Region, Eastern Europe, countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States, Mongolia) can be accessed at:
https://gfmc.online/fwf/eurasia1.htm

Example of the Eurasian Experimental Fire Weather Information System:
Latest map of the Experimental Fire Weather Index (FWI) for Russia and neighbouring countries

Daily Fire Occurrence and Fire Danger Maps of the Fire Laboratory of the Sukachev Institute of Forest, Krasnoyarsk
Selected fire occurrence maps, satellite images and a forest fire danger map are prepared daily by the Russian GFMC correspondent Dr. Anatoly Sukhinin, Fire Laboratory of the Sukachev Institute of Forest, Krasnoyarsk, in collaboration with the Emergency Situation Monitoring and Forecasting Agency, Krasnoyarsk branch. The maps are produced on the base of satellite data (classification by the NOAA AVHRR). They show the fire locations (by latitude and longitude) and the area affected by fire (red signature, size in ha). The red arrow at each fire location points to the nearest populated place. The terms Oblast or Kray used in the maps are designations of administrative regions. A map showing the boundaries of administrative regions and a legend is included below.

ru_fire_legend.gif (937 Byte)

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Map legend

Administrative boundaries

Overview map showing large fire locations detected over the last 10 days

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Overview

Latest maps maps showing fire activities of 27 May 2003 (selection)

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Buryatiya Republic Buryatiya Republic Buryatiya Republic

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Buryatiya Republic Buryatiya Republic Buryatiya Republic

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Chitinskaya Oblast Chitinskaya Oblast Chitinskaya Oblast

For more details on fire in the Russian Federation:

Bibliography on fire in ecosystems of boreal Eurasia:
One of the results of the first international fire science conference in the Russian Federation (1993) was the publication of a monograph on fire in boreal Eurasia, including some selected contributions on boreal North America. The literature cited in the monograph contains numerous publications which in many cases are not easily accessible. To facilitate literature search the bibliographical sources are provided by topic (chapter).
Goldammer, J.G. and V.V.Furyaev. 1996. Fire in Ecosystems of Boreal Eurasia. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, 390 p.


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