Wildfire spreads in Russia’s Siberia
Wildfire spreads in Russia’s Siberia
15 May 2011
published by http://world.globaltimes.cn
Russia — Wildfire areas in Russia’s Siberia region have expanded by 560 hectares to 1,500 hectares in the past 24 hours, the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry said on Sunday.
So far, areas of some 15,246 hectares have been affected by wildfires across Russia, the ministry said on its official website.
In Siberia, the ministry registered 106 spots of wildfires on a total area of 1492.6 hectares, while in past 24 hours firefighters have localized 52 wildfires on an area of 988 hectares in the region.
“Overall, 2,300 people and 534 pieces of equipment have been involved in the fire-fighting effort in the past twenty-four hours,” the ministry said.
According to the ministry, activities of local residents were the main causes of forest fires.
In summer 2010, fires severely damaged regions in central Russia, destroying thousands of homes. Statistics showed that the summer wildfires have cost Russia $15 billion.
