Forest fires raging in Russia

293 forest fires are currently raging in Russia, 85 of them appeared during the previous day.

Last day fire covered 1,298 hectares, said Lev Krylov, chief of the National Agency "Natural resources" to RIA Novosti. More than 2,000 people, large numbers of ground units and aviation are involved in extinguishing fires.

Yakutia, East Siberia, still has the most difficult situation, with 69 fires, 15 of which are large. Nine fires started because of lightning. 6 fires, 5 of them large, are still raging in Kamchatka, the Far East. All fires have by now been localized.

The Moscow region has 24 registered forest fires. 88 fires are reported in North-Western Russia. When touching upon the situation in Siberia, Krylov pointed out that Tyva (an East Siberian republic bordering on Mongolia) was facing difficulties, because of 36 fires. The weather in the republic remains very hot (36-38 degrees Centigrade) and dry.

Since the beginning of the dangerous fire season, Russia has seen 19,934 forest fires. Fire has covered 931,647 hectares.

In the first six months of this year 280 culprits were found and 12,300 cases of violating rules of fire safety in forests were registered.