Russia’s forestry agency reported on Friday that the country’s wildfire situation was easing up, although there were still 177 blazes burning across an area of around half a million hectares.
At its peak this summer, the fires were scorching more than four million hectares at the same time, fuelled by drought and high temperatures.
More than 9,000 people were still battling the flames with the support of 33 fire-fighting aircraft, the agency said.
The most severely affected area remained the republic of Yakutia in eastern Siberia.
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According to the authorities there, the emergency services were in the process of cutting wider firebreaks to prevent the flames from spreading farther.
Many fires were located far away from villages and towns.
Nevertheless, they had been dangerous to people’s health due to the smoke, which can travel thousands of kilometres.
Source: dpa
