Number of forest fires grow in Russia's Far East

In the past twenty-four hours the number of forest fires in the Far East of Russia has increased from 51 to 71.

As the department of state control of the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources for the Far Eastern federal district reported on Wednesday, the fire situation has sharply worsened in the forests of the Amur Region: the day before five fires were registered, while on Wednesday - already 18, out of them five large-scale fires in the Amur and Blagoveshchensk forestries. During one day the number of fires in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) has increased from ten to sixteen.

In the Khabarovsk Territory fifteen fires are raging, pointed out the department, in the Maritime Territory - seventeen, on Kamchatka and Sakhalin - two on each, and one in the Jewish Autonomous Region.

More than 1,200 men, 24 aircraft and 187 pieces of special ground equipment are taking part in the elimination of fires in the Far Eastern federal district.