Forest
fires rage in Russian Far East – Tomsk firefighters ill-equipped,
pilots on strike over back pay
23
August, 2012
Firefighters
extinguished all six forest fires over the past 24 hours that
remained raging in Russia’s Siberia this summer, the regional
forestry department said in a statement on Thursday.
There
are no more registered fires in the region, but the emergencies
situation still remain in force in three areas of the Tomsk region
due to the high risk of new wildfires outbreak, the statement added.
Last
month NASA quoted Greenpeace as saying that this year's wildfires are
worse than in 2010, when they engulfed most of central Russia,
chocking the populous region with acrid smog.
Also
in July, smoke from wildfires in the taiga east of the Urals
accounted for some spectacular sunsets in western Canada and the
United States.
More
than 200,000 hectares of forest already burned down in Siberia and
the Russian Far East, where fires are still raging, since the start
of the summer.
28
August, 2012
Pilots
from Russia’s Far Eastern Khabarovsk Territory are refusing to put
out wildfires currently raging in the region over pay arrears that
top 122 million rubles, the head of the local forest management
department Alexander Lyubyakin said on Tuesday.
The
majority of wildfires triggered by the summer heat wave in Russia
have been put out, but 11 wildfires with a total area of 838 hectares
are still raging in Khabarovsk Territory.
“Pay
arrears are obstructing the firefighting effort in Khabarovsk
Territory. Few planes are being used to douse the fires. Several
aviation enterprises have refused to carry out their commitments
because of the pay arrears,” Lyubyakin said.
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