Russia Wildfires Still Spreading, But Should End in a Week

Russia is still fighting to extinguish nearly 600 wildfires in an emergency that has now claimed 50 lives, reported BBC News on August 5.

Foreign reinforcements are arriving, including two Canadair water-bombing planes from Italy. Ukraine and Belarus are also sending firefighters.

The defence ministry has ordered the transfer of all artillery and munitions from a military base near the capital.

The Moscow smog eased on Thursday, though an acrid smell persisted from peat fires burning outside the city.

Seven regions are under a state of emergency. Russian officials say there are now 589 wildfires raging across 196,000 ha (484,326 acres). More than 160,000 firefighters have been deployed.

Col Alexei Kuznetsov, a defence ministry spokesperson, told the Associated Press that a garrison near Naro-Fominsk, 45 miles (70km) from Moscow, would be evacuated due to the danger posed by fires.

It was not in immediate danger, he added.

Emergencies Minister Sergei Shoigu has meanwhile warned that fires in the Bryansk region – an area affected by the 1986 Chernobyl disaster – could produce radioactive particles.

Forecasters expect Moscow’s high temperatures to persist for several more days.

Russia has announced it is banning the export of grain from 15 August to 31 December after drought and fires devastated about a fifth of its grain crop.

More than 3,500 people have lost their homes in 14 regions of Russia in the past few days.