Worst fires ever strike Russia

[Chris]

Moscow, Russia (CNN) -- At least 25 people have been killed and thousands left homeless by wildfires sweeping through western Russia, authorities said Saturday.

The Russian government said it has sent some 240,000 people to fight the blazes, which are among the worst ever to hit the region, the Interfax news agency reported.

The fires have destroyed 1,257 homes across 14 regions, the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations said. It said 2,825 people have been left homeless.

A hot, dry summer has been a key factor in the fires, drying out large parts of land and igniting the peat bogs that lie all over central Russia.

Shaposhnikov told Interfax the weather forecast made him pessimistic about the possibility the situation might improve in the near future.

"Dry weather will last for at least several more days in both the Central Federal District and the Volga Federal District, with temperature reaching 33 Celsius (91.4 Fahrenheit), and it could reach even 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in the Nizhny Novgorod region," he said.

The fires are the worst ever to hit the European part of Russia, the region west of the Ural Mountains, the RIA-Novosti news agency said.

Russian wildfires leave 25 dead, thousands homeless - CNN.com

 

[Chris]

Hundreds of new wildfires break out in Russia
By MIKHAIL METZEL (AP) – 1 day ago

VORONEZH, Russia — Hundreds of new fires broke out Sunday in Russian forests and fields that have been dried to a crisp by drought and record heat, but firefighters claimed success in bringing some of the wildfires raging around cities under control.

The firefighters got much-needed help from residents desperate to save their homes, who shoveled sand onto the flames and carted water in large plastic bottles.

The wildfires that began threatening much of western Russia last week have killed 28 people and destroyed or damaged 77 towns or villages, the Emergencies Ministry said. Thousands of people have been evacuated from areas in the path of flames, but no deaths have been recorded since late Wednesday.

The Associated Press: Hundreds of new wildfires break out in Russia