Russia deploys emergency crews as Siberian wildfires spread
Emergency crews were sent to Siberia as record heat, silkmoth infestations and strong winds drove wildfires across millions of hectares, prompting a state of emergency and sparking public petitions. Separate fires burned 69 acres in Sevastopol after Ukrainian UAVs were downed.
Russia deployed emergency crews to Siberia as wildfires burned 2.7 million hectares (about 10,400 square miles) on Tuesday, an area described as almost the size of Belgium. The fires prompted a state of emergency in five Siberian regions, according to insideclimatenews.org. Record high temperatures, lightning storms and strong winds were reported as contributing factors.
Authorities said the rapid spread was driven by high temperatures and severe Siberian silkmoth infestations, which have killed vast swaths of trees and left large amounts of highly flammable deadwood.
Smoke from the Siberian fires traveled hundreds of miles, reaching some of Russia’s biggest regional cities, and two petitions attracted more than 1 million signatures demanding government action, insideclimatenews.org reported.
In Sevastopol, forest fires engulfed 69 acres, according to TASS. The fires followed the downing of Ukrainian UAVs, also reported by TASS. Firefighters have been battling the blaze for over a day, with their work complicated by difficult mountainous terrain, TASS added.
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