Forest fires still raging in Yakutia

KHABAROVSK, July 20 (Itar-Tass) - The Republic of Yakutia in the Far
East remains a problem area from the viewpoint of efforts to grapple with
forest fires. By Wednesday morning, 21 forest fires are still raging in
the republic on an area of over 8,600 hectares, an official at the
forestry department for the Far Eastern Federal District has told
Itar-Tass.
Fire-fighting efforts are involving 900 people, as well as 132 units
of machinery on the ground, and ten air vehicles. Groups of professional
parachute jumpers and paratroopers of the aerial forest protection
service, sent in from a number of territories and regions of Siberia and
the Far East are already at work in Yakutia. Rosleskhoz is planning to
send forest fire fighters from the Komi Republic to Yakutia shortly.
According to the forestry department, sixteen forest fires have been
put out in the Far East over the past 24 hours on an area of 13,400
hectares. Thirty-two forest fires are still raging on an aggregate area of
8,778 hectares.
Most focuses of forest fires in Amur and Sakhalin Regions and
Khabarovsk Territory have been localized. There are no forest fires
elsewhere in the Far East.