Fires to cost Russia $320m

The cost of forest fires in Russia this year may exceed 10 billion rubles(about $320 million). The State Forestry Service of the Natural ResourcesMinistry was quoted as saying that the fires were most numerous in theMoscow and Leningrad regions, while blazes were serious in the Novgorod andYaroslavl regions.The report said 32,000 forest fires had been recorded this year and thatthey covered more than 1 million hectares, or three times the area struckby flames in the same period last year, the St. Petersburg Times reported..