15% of Environment in Russia Fails to Meet Admissible Norms
Forest FiresSpreading up Mountain Slopes of Russia’s Khabarovsk Territory
BBC MonitoringInternational Reports, 26 July 2003
Khabarovsk –Forest fires in the Khabarovsk Territory have spread far up the slopes of theSikhote Alin and other mountain ranges, specialists have said. Bulldozers andother fire-fighting vehicles already have to be used at altitudes of 700-800 m,but the situation shows few signs of improvement. The Far East Forest ProtectionService has told ITAR-TASS that 25,000 ha of forest are ablaze in KhabarovskTerritory. The number of fires has grown to 87 from 75 on Friday (25 July).
Hot, dry weatherhas aggravated the situation in the whole of Russia’s Far East, except AmurRegion, where torrential rainfall continues. Fires destroy 8-10 hectares offorest a day.
A total of 2,700fire-fighters, 42 planes and 150 ground vehicles are involved in thefire-fighting effort.
