The head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations announced a 2.5-fold increase in the area of forest fires in Russia

The area of forest fires in Russia has increased 2.5 times compared to last year. This was announced on May 22 by the head of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, Alexander Kurenkov, during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"Since the beginning of the year, almost 2.5 thousand forest fires have occurred on the territory of the Russian Federation, which is comparable to last year's figures. However, the area of fires is about 2 million hectares, which is 2.5 times higher than the values for the same period in 2024," he said.

According to the head of the department, the most difficult situation is observed in the Trans-Baikal Territory, where 487 fires have been registered on an area of 1.5 million hectares since the beginning of the year. At the same time, the situation in the region is classified as an emergency in federal forests.

Kurenkov clarified that there are currently 39 active fires in the region with a total area of about 750 thousand hectares, of which nine are localized. Special equipment was also used to extinguish the fire and airmobile groups of the Amur Rescue Center, the main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia for the Khabarovsk Territory and the Siberian Fire and Rescue Academy were involved.

In addition, planes and helicopters were relocated to Chita to protect settlements and economic facilities.

It's all burning with fire: Forest fires have engulfed the Far East

Fires are being extinguished by more than 3,000 people, and the number of specialists in difficult regions is constantly increasing.

Earlier, on May 19, it was reported that 93 perpetrators of wildfires, of which 39 are minors, have been identified in Transbaikalia since the beginning of the fire season. During this time, 6 thousand patrols of the forest were also conducted. It was noted that 73 people had arranged a grass fire, and another 20 people were responsible for causing forest fires.