Old Rocks
Diamond Member
MOSCOW Heavy downpours cooled the Russian capital after weeks of no rain and unprecedented heat, but dozens of wildfires still raged around Moscow on Friday and a new blaze was spotted near the country's top nuclear research center.
The city remains largely free of the clouds of suffocating smog that affected it earlier, but meteorologists say smoke from burning forests and peat bogs may choke the city over the weekend if the wind direction changes.
The Emergency Situations Ministry said its teams have managed to reduce the area covered by wildfires, but more than 500 were continuing to burn across the country, including 29 around Moscow. It said about 14,000 firefighters were battling blazes around the Russian capital.
The Associated Press: Rain refreshes Moscow, but wildfires still burning
"One issue that is being ignored in the West is that the Russian are themselves reporting that magnitude and destructive power of these fires are due to a complete collapse of forest management, i.e. the maintaing of firebreaks, the clearing of overgrowth and other debris. It is being reported that the number of forest managers, forest rangers and other forest workers have been reduced by nearly 85% over the years."
Man caused heat combined with man's poor environmental stewardship.