By Tass
MOSCOW, July 3. /TASS/. The forest fire that has been raging in the Transbaikal Region since early summer now covers an area of a little under 45,000 acres, over 50 times smaller than at its peak, Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations told TASS.
“The forest fire area in the Transbaikal Region continues to decrease. As of the morning of July 3, fourteen active wildfires remain burning across 44,500 acres, a figure 55 times smaller than in the first days of summer,” the ministry reported.
Meanwhile, the regional Ministry of Natural Resources’ press service, which uses a different wildfire area calculation method, reported on July 2 that the area had shrunk to 6,400 acres. According to Russia’s Emergencies Ministry, eight fires covering 42,000 acres have now been contained. Nine fires covering 11,900 acres have been extinguished over the past 24 hours. No residential areas are currently under threat.
The fire hazard season in the Transbaikal Region officially started on March 24. A regional state of emergency in forests has been in effect since April 7. To mobilize additional resources for stabilizing the situation in the region, a federal state of emergency followed on April 23. The primary causes of forest fires remain dry grass burning, unattended campfires, and other human-related factors. Since the beginning of the year, over five million acres of forest have burned in the region.