Authorities in the Siberian republic of Buryatia on Wednesday ordered the evacuation of a village due to fast-moving wildfires in the area.
Buryatia regional head Alexei Tsydenov said strong winds pushed a blaze toward the village of Sulkhara, prompting officials to bus 91 residents, including 33 children, to temporary shelters in a neighboring village.
“The fire did not reach the village,” Tsydenov wrote on Telegram, describing the wildfire situation in the Kizhinginsky district as “difficult.”
As of Wednesday morning, 43 wildfires were active across Buryatia, with the regional branch of Russia’s Federal Forestry Agency attributing 30 of them to human negligence.
“We’re now on the fifth day of detecting fires in remote areas that are difficult to reach and even harder to extinguish,” said Sergei Boroshnoyev, head of the agency’s Buryatia branch.
Boroshnoyev added that dry, windy weather continues to complicate firefighting efforts, though authorities say all active blazes “remain under control.”
Buryatia declared a regionwide state of emergency on May 13 and banned public access to forests. Authorities have blamed the majority of the fires on human activity.
With nearly 68,500 hectares (170,000 acres) currently burning, Buryatia is the second hardest-hit region during this year’s wildfire season. Only the neighboring Zabaikalsky region has seen more damage, accounting for 90% of all wildfires nationwide and prompting a federal emergency declaration last month.
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