Spark with fire: the fire season has begun in 17 regions of Russia
A fire season has begun in 17 regions of Russia, the Federal Forestry Agency told Izvestia. These are, among others, the Moscow, Rostov and Volgograd regions, and the Krasnodar Territory. And the first forest fires have already been recorded in Primorsky Krai and the Jewish Autonomous Region. But the situation in the country as a whole is relatively calm now — fewer fires are registered in the forests than usual at this time, experts noted. High fire risks are predicted only in April, and primarily in the southern, Far Eastern and Siberian regions. The reason for the later than usual start of the dangerous period is in the Izvestia article.
Where there are high risks of forest fires
In many regions of Russia, the snowy winter and the weather conditions of the beginning of spring have shifted the start of the forest fire season from March (as it was last year) to April, the Federal Forestry Agency told Izvestia.
— But this is not a reason to relax. The regions should already be fully prepared for the season. This is especially true in the south of Russia and the Caucasus, where forces and means must be brought to maximum readiness," the head of the department, Ivan Advisers, told the newspaper.
Moreover, the forest fire season has started in 17 regions. In particular, we are talking about the Krasnodar Territory, Moscow, Belgorod, Volgograd, Rostov regions, Kalmykia, a number of Caucasian, Siberian and Far Eastern regions.
In April, according to the Federal Service for Hydrometeorology, exceeding the average annual fire danger values is predicted in four federal districts at once: Southern, Siberian, North Caucasus, and Far Eastern. In May, their number will grow to six — the North-Western and Volga regions will be added.
The head of the Federal Forestry Agency stressed that almost all forest fires occur in the spring due to human fault — due to non-compliance with fire safety regulations.
— The cause of the fire may be debris left in the forest, an insufficiently extinguished campfire, sparking faulty equipment. I will say separately about the burning of dry vegetation — we must remember that it is strictly forbidden and illegal to do this," said Ivan Advisers.
Why did the season start later
The situation with fire danger is relatively calm this year, Konstantin Kobyakov, head of flora conservation projects at the Nature and People Foundation, noted in an interview with Izvestia.
— There are fewer fires recorded now than usual at this time. Last year it was early spring and there was little snow, it came down faster, so the fires started earlier. The fires were quite large-scale. In 2026, the climate is more familiar: snow is still mostly lying all over the country, so there are fewer fires, and they are still developing according to a more or less usual scenario," he explained.
The only thing that stands out from the usual picture is the early start of the fire season in the north-west of Russia — in the Pskov, Novgorod, Leningrad and Kaliningrad regions.
The forest fire season, as a rule, starts from the south and south-east of Russia, Konstantin Kobyakov explained. Primorsky Krai is usually among the first regions where forest fires start. Then there are Krasnodar and Stavropol territories, Dagestan, Astrakhan and Voronezh regions.
— There are already quite large fire areas there, but, for the most part, these are grass fires. The snow is coming down, and the open areas are cleared of snow earlier, and the dried grass of last year is exposed. And some citizens are starting to set it on fire. Grass fires rarely fully enter the forests, because there is snow there now, or even if it has come down, it is still quite humid," the expert pointed out.
But the damage from grass fires should not be underestimated, Konstantin Kobyakov warned. Such fires cause serious damage to nature, and as the forests dry out, they begin to move into the thicket, causing more widespread consequences. In addition, grass fires are more likely than forest fires to spread to residential buildings and infrastructure facilities.
How many forest fires have been extinguished since the beginning of the year
Avialesookhrana has prepared over 1.5 thousand pyropatrons with silver iodide for artificial rain generation, said Alexey Panov, head of the organization, during a conference on preparedness for the fire season. They are fired into rain clouds from an An-26 aircraft and used to extinguish hard-to-reach areas.
Since the beginning of 2026, 75 forest fires have been eliminated in Russia on an area of 3.7 thousand hectares, the press service of the Federal Forestry Agency reported.
A special fire protection regime is currently operating in the territory of one region — in Primorsky Krai. The first forest fire was recorded there back in February. According to the regional authorities, 131 fires have been registered in Primorye since the beginning of this year, 23 of them on forest lands. The region has allocated more than 1.2 billion rubles to fight forest fires, 185 million more than last year.
In the Moscow region, the new fire season may be more difficult than the previous one, said Alexey Larkin, chairman of the Forestry Committee of the Moscow Region. High risks persist both in spring and summer due to possible peat fires.
Three forest fires on an area of 253 hectares are currently under control in the Jewish Autonomous Region.
— Despite the serious fires, a small part of the forces and resources from those stated in the consolidated plan are involved in extinguishing forest fires. This is unacceptable," said Alexei Venglinsky, Deputy head of the Federal Forestry Agency. — The region needs to work on patrolling forests. This directly affects the efficiency of fire detection and extinguishing.
The head of the Federal Forestry Agency called on citizens to observe safety rules in forests.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
