"The hottest time is expected in the middle of July"

The summer peak of the fire season is forecast in July, said the head of the Federal Forestry Agency (Rosleskhoz) Ivan Counsellors. He recalled that the spring part of the season turned out to be difficult, the fire covered almost 3 million hectares, which is more than last year. The main part of the fires occurred in the Trans-Baikal Territory and Buryatia. About what the summer part of the season is expected to be like and how technology helps fight fire, in an interview with Ivan Sovetnikov to Izvestia at SPIEF 2025.

"Weather conditions and management mistakes played a big role"

— The forest fire season is already in full swing, what are the results of its spring part?

— To be honest, it was difficult. The fires started early, and already in April, the Trans-Baikal Territory was actively burning. If you look at the numbers, the data is not very good. The area covered by fire, primarily by runaway grass-roots fires, amounted to almost 3 million hectares in the spring. But I repeat, the area covered by the fire is not equal to the area of the dead plantings.

These figures are higher than last year, but if we look at the geography, we will see that 98% of the area is in three districts in the Trans-Baikal Territory and two districts in Buryatia. Moreover, these are mostly quite remote, hard-to-reach territories, where there are few settlements, even fewer roads and no business forest. There are stone hills covered with small woodlands, and the fire was going through it, along the forest floor.

Economic facilities did not burn down, the civilian population was not injured, and we assess the results well in this regard. And next year we will carry out reforestation work.

— What was the reason for such an early and difficult start?

— These are mainly climatic reasons. The spring was abnormally dry, especially in Transbaikalia and Buryatia. There has not been a drop of precipitation for a month and a half.

Unfortunately, humans are also traditionally the cause of all spring fires. If you look at the world news, you can see that Los Angeles has also been badly affected by wildfires. The reasons there are exactly the same as ours: windy weather, dry weather, and citizens grossly violate fire safety rules in forests.

Fire reservoirs in America were empty, the team was not recruited, the shrubbery approached the settlement, and people set off fireworks. Unfortunately, the same thing happens with us. The weather is dry and windy, someone is burning garbage, someone is burning grass in the fields, someone is driving into the forest on agricultural machinery.

There was a case when we got a forest fire from the spark of a diesel locomotive that was traveling along a railway along which there was no plowing. Of course, as a species, as a reasonable person, we need to work on ourselves and prevent violations of fire safety rules in forests.

Future fogs: forest fires in June may break out in almost 40 regions

In addition to the hot weather, there is a lack of moisture after a snowy winter, experts say.

— You have already mentioned the area covered by fire. And in which regions was the situation the most difficult?

— At the very beginning of the season, there was a slight tension in Primorye and the Jewish Autonomous Region. And all the other events are developing on the territory of Transbaikalia and a little bit of Buryatia. Of the 3 million hectares of the area covered by fire, more than 2.7 million were in Transbaikalia. And a fairly large area in Buryatia. The main problems are focused in three districts of Transbaikalia and two districts of Buryatia.

— Last year, you described the situation in Transbaikalia as a managerial failure. The Minister of Natural Resources has changed in the region. Why did the situation repeat itself this year?

— It's difficult to answer unequivocally. Many factors converged. Weather conditions played a big role. Of course, there were also managerial mistakes. But now we are focused on extinguishing fires. Our task is to put it out, and then we will figure it out, draw some conclusions.

— Were there any other regions that failed to prepare for the forest fire season?

— Some regions were indeed not fully prepared. But the global situation in the country is not bad, basically we have completed training and the spring part of the season is very decent.

"The perpetrators of forest fires began to recover damages"

— We have already entered the summer part of the forest fire season. When is the peak expected and what are the general forecasts for the coming months?

— The summer peak of the forest fire season traditionally falls on the 10th-30th of July, that is, there is about a month left. The summer peak is divided into two groups. The first is remote fires that occur from thunderstorms, but these are hard—to-reach areas. So far, analytics tell us that the hottest time will be somewhere in the middle of July at the junction of the Irkutsk region, Krasnoyarsk Territory and Yakutia.

The second problem point is predicted in the Central Federal District. They also promise hot weather during this period. It is a densely populated district. The main cause of fires there is no longer thunderstorms, but people. And, of course, we need to work to ensure that fire safety rules are not violated, that fires are detected and extinguished on time, and that we work out all this clearly and quickly.

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.

— Last year you said that September was the fourth summer month in terms of weather. Maybe there are already forecasts for autumn this year?

— So far, the Russian Hydrometeorological Service predicts a normal autumn, not as hot as last year, but we are all hoping for the best, and preparing for the worst. In other words, we expect that the summer season will last again until the end of September. We have the strength, the people are ready, the supplies are all done, so our forest fire services are working hard.

— How many fines have already been issued for non-compliance with fire safety regulations in forests?

— The first figure for this year is more than 3.5 thousand protocols for almost 40 million rubles. But we don't have a task to fine anyone. Our task is to ensure that there is no fire in the forest, there are no fires. That's what we're working for, not for fines.

On the other hand, starting this year, we have been actively implementing the practice of collecting not only fines from those responsible for a fire, but also our expenses for extinguishing and repairing fire damage. That is, the figures will be completely different, of course. I think even the information that we are collecting damages has made people think more about it and break the rules less.

"We know every forest firefighter"

— Since this year, the forestry industry has switched to the unified federal digital State Forest Register, and the Federal State Forest Infrastructure System (FGIS LC) has also been operational. Is it possible to summarize the first results of this transition? How has digitalization affected the forestry industry?

— Indeed, since January 1, the country has switched to FGIS LC, and for the first time the state forest register is maintained digitally, in electronic form. Of course, it was not without difficulties, like any innovation. To be honest, many people were sure that we would not introduce the system, we would postpone the deadlines. And many did not prepare.

People resist any innovation. The first reaction is rejection. People say: "Why? Everything was fine with us, we drew on paper in the old-fashioned way, agreed with someone."

But you can't negotiate with the system anymore. You can negotiate with anyone, put pressure on them, and smile once more. But the system doesn't work that way. The system needs clear data. The data is entered — the system skips. I entered the data incorrectly, did not read the instructions, and the system fails. Of course, this angers people and causes negative emotions. But it seems to me that we have already passed this phase.

Now the system is working, all public services are provided exclusively through FGIS LC. And we see that people have already adapted to this and adjusted their work. We have definitely reduced labor costs in the industry, and we understand more clearly what is happening and where.

— So the human factor is excluded?

— Not completely yet, but we have greatly reduced it. And many routine functions have been automated. I think this is a good step forward.

Both in the forest and in firewood: profit from wood processing in the Russian Federation increased by 37%

At a meeting with the Cabinet of Ministers, Putin assessed the development of the industry, launched new plants and discussed the elimination of the consequences of the accident in the Black Sea.

— And what other new technologies can be expected in the forestry industry? What is being used now?

— We are already actively using drones. Foresters were probably among the first to use them 7-10 years ago. We actively use space monitoring. At the same time, both it and ground-based monitoring have elements of artificial intelligence. We can give a lot of routine functions to artificial intelligence and the system. And we definitely have a lot to develop.

— Artificial intelligence is a key topic this year.

—That's right. And it's a really useful story. If it is applied correctly, do not engage in fantasy, but identify routine processes and use it to work them out.

— And what other legislative changes and initiatives are expected in the forestry industry?

— Literally in the coming days, the long-awaited law on forest roads will be adopted. We have been working on it for more than three years, and now we have finally reached acceptance. And in the autumn session, we plan to draw the attention of legislators to forest management.

— You said earlier that there is a certain shortage of personnel in the forestry industry. In which positions is it particularly acute?

— For everyone. I'm not kidding, I'm not exaggerating. Unfortunately, starting from ordinary employees and ending with regional ministers, we have an acute shortage of people. When I communicate with governors, including within the framework of the SPIEF, I am regularly asked to help with the search for people for certain positions, up to the minister.

There are many factors, including salary, for which we are probably not in the lead. But we are trying to build a model so that the personnel still go to forestry.

— Are there enough specialists and forces to extinguish forest fires now?

— On the one hand, it's enough, on the other hand, it's very difficult for us. Every year, at the beginning of the season, we train people, teach them, vaccinate them against encephalitis, buy special uniforms, and rotate them. This is manual labor. And we know everyone who does this work in Russia.