(Moscow) Large forest fires in Siberia have reached the outskirts of Russian cities, enveloping some in smoke, while firefighters have fought in the region against nearly 200 fires.
Published on 16 July 2020 at 718
France Media Agency
One of the areas most affected by these massive fires, which repeat from year to year, against the backdrop of a warming climate, is the city of Yugorsk, more than 1600 kilometers northeast of Moscow, where a group of more than 100 firefighters and volunteers is deployed.
“The city has been cut off from fire and it is not threatening homes, but when the wind turns in the morning, smoke enters the city”, testified with AFP Alexei Maksimeniouk, a municipal official.
In Yakutsk, city of more than 300 000 people in eastern Siberia, photos and videos posted on social networks show thick gray smoke enveloping streets and buildings.
According to local authorities, dry thunderstorms caused three fires in the outskirts of the city, in an area which has been experiencing heat records for several weeks.
The aerial forest protection service indicated that it is currently fighting against 197 fires throughout the territory, representing in total more than 43 000 hectares, mainly in the region of Yakutia, including the capital is Yakutsk.
More than 380 000 other hectares ravaged by flames are not involved in the fight against fire, according to the government policy which consists in not fighting the hearths being in too isolated zones through the immense uninhabited forests of Siberia.
This policy came under fire last summer, when smoke reached some of the most populous cities in Siberia. President Vladimir Putin had finally resolved to send the army to put out the fires.
This year, the fires were reinforced by an extreme heat wave, consequence of climate change.
Environmental activists also question the poor management of Russian forests and the lack of resources.