GFMC: Forest Fires in the Russian Federation
Forest Fires in the Russian Federation
15 July 2005
GFMC analysis: According to the latest satellite-derived analysis provided by the Sukachev Institute for Forest (Krasnoyarsk) the total area burned by 14 July 2005 in the Russian Federation is 6 539 827 hectares (ha).
Note: The area burned includes all vegetation types (forest and non-forested land on the whole territory of the Russian Federation). For current fire statistics on forest lands of the Federal Russian Forest Fund compiled by Avialesookhrana see report below.
Latest satellite scenes from fires burning across Central Siberian Plateau:
On the Central Siberian Plateau, the northeastward direction of the Lena River is turned sharply northward as the river encounters the Verkhoyanskiy Mountains. The river flows northward along the base of the range for several hundreds more kilometres before emptying into the Arctic Ocean via the Laptev Sea. In the area where the Lena rounds this sharp corner, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASAs Aqua satellite detected numerous fires (marked in red) burning in the regions boreal forests on 14 July 2005.
AQUA
14 July 2005
04:20 hrs UTC
(Image courtesy MODIS)
True colour: Bands 1-4-3
False colour: Bands 7-2-1
The links provide a 500m resolution for both scenes
As in Alaska, summertime thunderstorms in the northern forests often bring lightning that starts forest fires. Fires also start through carelessness or accidents of people visiting forests. In Russia’s boreal forests, another major source of forest fires is arson. People set fires to acquire salvage logging permits, which are far cheaper than permits for other forests. The arsonists set fires that may only disturb underbrush and small trees, while leaving the bigger, more lucrative trees unscathed.
Synoptic weather map for 15 July 2005 for the Russian Federation:
Source: Sukachev Institute for Forest, Krasnoyarsk
Fire danger map for 14 July 2005 for Eastern Siberia:
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.
Latest (15 July 2005 03:00 GMT) NOAA 12&14 AVHRR composite
The red squares indicate regions of active fires (MODIS Detection). 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), 15 July 2005
According to the wildfire situation report of July 14, 2005 of the Federal Forest Agency of Russia a total of 214 fires affected 6,791 ha forested and 1,615 ha non forested land , 54 fires of them were reported as new fires. In addition 60 fires occurred that were put out the same day they have started.
Since the beginning of the 2005 fire season a total of 7,409 fires affected 148,885 ha forested and 46,840 ha non-forested land of the Federal Forest Agency. (For comparison: Last year up to this date 16,586 fires have burnt 297,481 ha forested and 72,479 ha non-forested land).
Most fires have been reported in the following regions:
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Khabarovsk-38
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Tiva-19
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Primorski krai 13
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Leningradskaja obl-21
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Karelija-36
There are large fires in following regions:
Primorski krai 4 fires, burning area 1000 ha;
Rep. Tiva – 4 fires, burning area 1,500 ha;
Jakutia – 6 fires, area burning 39150 ha;
Karelija-4 fires, area burning 640 ha;
Khabarovsk-3 fires burning on 8,175 ha.
Through all of Russia 2,475 people, 59 aircraft, 369 bulldozers, tractors and engines have been involved in fire fighting.
Source: Aerial Forest Fire Protection Service of Russia (Avialesookhrana) , prepared for GFMC by Andrey M. Eritsov
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.
Map legend
Administrative boundaries
Overview map showing large fire locations detected over the last 10 days
Overview
Latest maps maps showing fire activities of 14 July 2005 (selection)
Respublika Sakha (Yakutiya) Respublika Sakha (Yakutiya) Yamalo-Nenetskiy a.o.
More maps of other regions are available on request: info@gfmc.org
For more details on fire in the Russian Federation:
- Russia 2002 fire report
- More Information about Russia in IFFN 28
- IFFN Reports from Russia
- Fire Research Campaign Asia-North (FIRESCAN)
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.
