In Irkutsk region, the area of forest fires has halved, now 17 fires are recorded in five districts over about 50 thousand hectares. 400 people and equipment are fighting them, and there are no fires near settlements. Authorities are preparing to lift the state of emergency, but will keep the special fire regime and discuss additional measures with forest leaseholders to prevent new fires.

The area of forest fires in the Irkutsk Region has decreased by half. This was reported by the First Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Irkutsk Region, Nikolai Slobodchikov.
At present, 17 fires have been recorded in five districts of the Irkutsk Region, with a total area of about 50 thousand hectares. Four hundred paratroopers, ground service specialists, and special equipment are involved in firefighting. All the fires, the First Deputy Chairman noted, are active within accessible areas, with the exception of the fires in the Katangsky District. As of today, there are no fires near populated areas.
Nikolai Slobodchikov noted that on July 30, 2014, it is planned to lift the state of emergency, but at the same time the special fire safety regime in the region’s forests will remain in effect. On Wednesday, a meeting will be held in the Government of the Irkutsk Region with the participation of major lessees of forest plots, where joint efforts will be determined for further work on extinguishing and preventing the spread of forest fires, as well as ensuring that all kinds of production activity are stopped, access is restricted, and the lessees’ activities are directed toward clearing logging sites of production residues; these measures are planned to be carried out until mid-September, when the fire season objectively ends.
The First Deputy Chairman also reported that on Tuesday the head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations for the Siberian Federal District, Vladimir Svetelsky, is arriving in Irkutsk, with whom it is planned to discuss coordination of the work of the regional Government and the Ministry of Emergency Situations administration for the Irkutsk Region on cooperation in extinguishing forest fires, the use of interdepartmental aviation, and other measures to localize and prevent the spread of fires in forests.
Based on materials from the press service of the Government of the Irkutsk Region.