The culprit of a major fire in Transbaikalia will pay 58 million rubles for it.

In Transbaikalia, a court recovered more than 58 million rubles from a local resident responsible for a major fire. He left the campfire unattended, which caused the dry grass to ignite and the fire to spread to the forest. As a result, 33 thousand hectares of forest were covered by the fire.

As reported by ChitaMedia news agency with reference to the regional prosecutor's office, the incident occurred on May 21, 2024 near the village of Ust-Karenga. The fire was extinguished by 93 people, two units of air and two units of ground equipment.

Only 17 days later, firefighters managed to control the fire. The damage caused to the forest fund exceeded 40 million rubles. More than 17 million rubles were spent on extinguishing the fire.

The culprit of the incident was brought to criminal responsibility for the destruction and damage of forest plantations. He was sentenced to 1 year of forced labor withholding 10% of his salary to the state income. In addition, the man must pay the full amount of the damage caused.

Earlier, on February 26, it was reported that ten natural fires were registered in Primorye during the day. Eight fires were extinguished. A special fire protection regime is in effect in 14 municipalities, and a high-alert regime has been introduced in six municipalities.