Morning smoke in Irkutsk is linked to smoldering peat bogs and forest fires in several districts of the region, said regional Emergencies Minister Valentin Nelyubov. As of August 12, 17 fires were active over 41.6 thousand hectares, and additional Defense Ministry planes and helicopters have been deployed to fight them. The prosecutor's office also reminded authorities to take timely and full measures to extinguish the fires, and the situation remains under its control.
The smoke that appears in the city in the mornings is caused by the smoldering of peat deposits and, for the most part, by forest fires active in the Bayandayevsky, Kachugsky, Olkhonsky, and Irkutsky districts, said Valentin Nelyubov, head of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations for the Irkutsk Region. This was reported by the ministry’s press service.As of August 12, 17 forest fires were active in the region in the Bayandayevsky, Zhigalovsky, Irkutsky, Kachugsky, and Olkhonsky districts, as well as on the territory of the Pribaikalsky National Park and the Baikal-Lensky Nature Reserve. The area covered by fire amounts to 41.6 thousand hectares.
Recall that additional aircraft have been deployed to extinguish forest fires in the Irkutsk Region. The Russian Ministry of Defense sent two Il-76 aircraft and two Mi-8 helicopters. Two Be-200 amphibious aircraft are operating in the region.
It was previously reported that the deputy prosecutor of the Irkutsk Region issued a warning to Sergey Tarasyuk, who is temporarily acting as head of the Irkutsk Region Forest Management Agency. The warning concerns the inadmissibility of violating legal requirements regarding the need to take timely and comprehensive measures to extinguish forest fires in the region. This situation is under the supervision of the oversight authority.