Putin updated on fires; villages in peril
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday urged authorities to strengthen their efforts to fight wildfires across northeastern Siberia, calling the situation “unprecedented” as fires threatened people’s homes.
Speaking in a video call with top officials, Putin noted that 13 forest fires in the Sakha-Yakutia region are raging within 3 miles of populated areas and emphasized the need to closely monitor the situation to protect residents.
Yakutia is the largest of Russia’s 85 regions, a vast territory bigger than Argentina. It has faced a spell of particularly devastating wildfires this year after months of hot, dry weather and record-breaking temperatures. Flames previously threatened a dozen of villages, and several were evacuated. The provincial capital of Yakutsk, several other cities and hundreds of villages have been blanketed in choking smoke from the blazes.
Emergencies Minister Yevgeny Zinichev reported to Putin on Saturday that his department has deployed 5,000 personnel, 765 vehicles and 19 aircraft to combat the wildfires in Yakutia.
He said the thick smoke from wildfires has grounded firefighting planes, adding that efforts were being taken to move them to another base where they could operate again starting Monday. For now, firefighters have to rely exclusively on helicopters to fight the flames, Zinichev said.
Saturday, officials reported 108 fires burning across nearly 3.2 million acres in Yakutia. Authorities have expanded a state of emergency in Yakutia to help transfer in firefighting resources from other regions.