Moscow regional authorities declare state of emergency to fight peat fires

In accordance with a decree by Moscow Regional Governor Boris Gromov, astate of emergency has been declared in 22 districts of the Moscow Region.This information was announced by the chairman of the Commission onEmergencies of the Moscow Region. According to the official, this decisionwas due to a sharp deterioration of the situation with peat fires.According to a report by the Moscow Regional Department of Civil Defenseand Emergencies, the situation in the region remains very difficult. 147fires in the territory of 489.5 hectares (1224 acres) have been registeredas of now. The largest fires have been reported in the Shatura, Dmitrov,Balashikha, Noginsk and Pavlovo-Posad Districts. In connection with the fire crisis in the Moscow Region, the EmergenciesCommission made a decision that heads of municipalities are obliged topersonally direct and organize efforts to extinguish fires in theirdistricts as well as to establish cooperation between the localauthorities, the Defense Ministry, the Interior Ministry, the FederalSecurity Service and the Prosecutor's Office. .