Wildfires start in Sakhalin forests - EMERCOM

VLADIVOSTOK, July 27 (Itar-Tass) - Wildfires have started in the
forests of Sakhalin started, two fire seats have been registered: in the
Poronaisky district at an area of 69 hectares and in the Smirnykhovsky
district on the lands of the Ministry of Defence - 4 hectares.
According to the press service of the Russian Emergency Situations
Ministry's (EMERCOM main department for the Sakhalin region, about 50
people, 6 pieces of equipment, including a K-32 helicopter are involved in
the operation to extinguish forest fires. Both fire spots have been
localised, there is no threats to human settlements there.
Meanwhile, over 500,000 hectares of woodland and non-forest areas have
been destroyed by wildfires in Russia's Far East this year. This is 3.7
times more than last year. The number of fires has increased 1.7 times as
compared with 2010. These figures were voiced at a videoconference with
heads of Russian regions chaired by Russian president's envoy to the Far
Eastern Federal District Viktor Ishayev. Twenty-five fires were registered
in the region as of Tuesday, covering an area of more than 4,500 hectares.
Yakutia is the hardest hit. Eleven fires in Yakutia engulf an area of more
than 3,600 hectares. Ishayev sharply criticized the work of heads of
forestry departments and the Far Eastern office of the Federal Service for
Supervision of Nature Resources for "failing to control the situation."
Already now debts for operations to put out fires have exceeded 105
million roubles. The number of people fighting wildfires in the Far East
in the air and on the ground has been slashed by half. Yakutia fails to
mobilize enough forces and means to fight fires, and untrained people are
used in that work.