Over 7,300 hectares of taiga ablaze in Siberia

KRASNOYARSK. June 18. KAZINFORM There are 121 forest fires burning on 7,349 hectares in the Siberian Federal District.

Firemen have localized 43 of the outbreaks on 4,036 ha and over the past day extinguished 26 fires on 971 ha, the Russian Emergencies Ministry's regional centre told Itar-Tass on Saturday.

Five large fires continued burning on 3,147 ha of the taiga in the Krasnoyarsk Territory and the Irkutsk Region on Saturday morning. There was no threat to residential areas, Kazinform refers to Itar-Tass.

The Irkutsk Region's Governor Dmitry Mezentsev on Friday lifted the state of emergency imposed on June 10. The regime remains in the Krasnoyarsk Territory though the situation has improved.

A total of 2,680 people fought the blaze on Friday. EMERCOM aircraft carried out 19 flights to airlift firefighters to the Krasnoyarsk and Trans-Baikal Territories. Eighty one people were airlifted.

There are 20 active thermal sites where new forest fires may break out. Additionally 307 firefighters are sent to the places.

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