In Irkutsk region, the forest fire situation has stabilized. In three days the burned area was reduced by 20 thousand hectares and is now under control. However, fires still remain in four districts of Priangarye, with over 10 thousand people and 500 vehicles involved in firefighting, including aircraft from the Emergencies Ministry and Defense Ministry. Why the situation improved, where the hardest hotspots remain, and what tasks rescuers face now, in the report.

The fire situation in the region has stabilized: over three days, the area burned was reduced by 20,000 hectares, said Vladimir Stepanov, Deputy Minister for Civil Defense, Emergencies and Elimination of the Consequences of Natural Disasters of the Russian Federation. At present, the fire situation is under control. Over Saturday and Sunday, 20,000 hectares were extinguished. However, in the Irkutsk Region, a fire covering about 30,000 hectares has not yet been eliminated.
Now fires are raging in four districts of the Angara region: Irkutsk, Kachug, Olkhon, and Bayandayevsky, whereas just three days ago the state of emergency was in eight districts of the region.
"There is a constant buildup of the force grouping. The environmental situation has stabilized. Precipitation fell, but unfortunately it did not occur where the situation is most difficult. We will continue to work, conduct monitoring, strengthen the grouping, and extinguish the fires. The work is being carried out around the clock, under the overall coordination of the Russian Emergencies Ministry at the moment. Everyone is working in a coordinated and organized manner, which means there will be results," Vladimir Stepanov said.

More than 10,000 people and 500 units of special equipment, including aircraft and helicopters from the Russian Emergencies Ministry and the Russian Defense Ministry, are involved in extinguishing the forest fires in the region. As of today, the task is to extinguish the fires in the Irkutsk and Kachug districts.
Recall that on August 14, the fire engulfed more than 50,000 hectares in the region. At the end of last week, a meeting of the emergency commission was held by Emergencies Minister Vladimir Puchkov. He criticized the organization of the work to extinguish forest fires in the Irkutsk Region and put the Emergencies Ministry grouping on a round-the-clock work schedule.
On the weekend, volunteers helped fight the fires.