Support The Moscow Times!

Siberian Wildfires Are Fully Extinguished, Authorities Say

Emergency Situations Ministry

Russian authorities have extinguished the remaining forest fires in Siberia that covered an area the size of Belgium and caused at least $100 million worth of damage at their peak.

Huge swathes of Siberia and Russia’s Arctic have been engulfed in wildfires this summer, with smog reaching major cities in the area. Major social media campaigns decried the authorities’ slow response to the fires, while scientists and environmentalists around the world rang the alarm over the fires’ carbon emissions.

“There are no forest fires on Russian territory as of midnight Sept. 30,” the Aerial Forest Protection Service, a government agency, announced Monday.

Fire season remains active across almost all of Russia and a fire protection regime has been instituted in 31 regions, the service said in a daily bulletin.

The wildfires in Siberia were thought to have been triggered by a combination of lightning and human activity. 

Russian prosecutors said in August that some of the Irkutsk region wildfires were started on purpose by arsonists trying to conceal illegal logging activity.

… we have a small favor to ask.

As you may have heard, The Moscow Times, an independent news source for over 30 years, has been unjustly branded as a "foreign agent" by the Russian government. This blatant attempt to silence our voice is a direct assault on the integrity of journalism and the values we hold dear.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. Our commitment to providing accurate and unbiased reporting on Russia remains unshaken. But we need your help to continue our critical mission.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just 2. It's quick to set up, and you can be confident that you're making a significant impact every month by supporting open, independent journalism. Thank you.

Continue

Read more