Russia2
Forestfires resume in Russias Far East
Publishedby Itar-Tass, 27 August 2004
Khabarovsk, 27 August 2004 (Itar-Tass) — Forest fires resumed in the Russian Far East after a long lull, the regional environmental protection department told Tass Friday.
It reported nine fires from Yakutia to Chukotka and said over 90 firemen and dozens of firefighting vehicles had been engaged in Primorye, Khabarovsk and Magadan regions.
It is unusually hot in the Far East for this period of the year with temperatures rising up to 30 degrees Centigrade.
The environmental protection department said there has been a total of 756 forest fires in the region this season that destroyed 31,700 hectares of taiga.
