Forest fires raging in Siberia

In connection with hot weather in Siberia, the situation with the forest fires there has aggravated.

A Russian natural resources ministry official, Vladimir Rogovtsev told RIA Novosti that over 300 fires occurred in the region's woods over the May holidays.

The most serious situation has formed in the south of Western Siberia - in the Altai territory, the Omsk and Novosibirsk regions, where the temperature is 25 degrees above zero.

According to Rogovtsev, who is in charge of forest monitoring, the majority of fires were discovered and extinguished fast by means of forest guard. The aggravation of the fire-hazardous situation was forecasted, so experts were ready for it, he explained.

Rogovtsev said hundreds of forest guard officers, vehicles and aircraft are taking part in putting out the fires. Data on the number of active fires are being specified.

Overall, since the beginning of the fire-hazardous season, over 500 forest fires at an area of some 7,500 hectares have been registered in Siberia. Thanks to the long spring, this figure is almost 75% less in comparison with the same period last year.

Snow cover still remains in remote parts of taiga, but foresters believe the situation with forest fires will be aggravated with each day, so specialists call upon the local population to be careful while handling fire in forests.

Statistics say the absolute majority of forest fires are caused by man.