Putin held a meeting on the elimination of fires in Russia: the main thing

Russian President Vladimir Putin, during a meeting on the elimination of forest fires, said that the spread of flames near settlements in the Ryazan region is of concern. The head of state noted that it is necessary to eliminate the fires as soon as possible. In August, a difficult situation with fires developed in some regions of the Russian Federation, including the Ryazan, Nizhny Novgorod regions and the Republic of Mari El. The Russian leader recalled that the fires are connected, among other things, with abnormal heat, which continues to be observed in Russia. What else did Putin say during the meeting?

Abnormal heat and fires in Russia

The head of state noted that abnormally hot weather set in Russia and European countries in August, which led to large natural fires. The fight against the elements on the continent is not easy – high temperatures, drought and drying up of the rivers leave their mark, so the fight against fires requires the involvement of large-scale resources.

“It should be noted that in the country as a whole, at the moment, the total area of ​​​​forest fires is almost three times less than a year earlier – 2.8 times. Meanwhile, I repeat, due to abnormal weather conditions in a number of regions of the European part of the country today the situation is difficult. First of all, we are talking about natural fires in the Ryazan region”the president explained.

Strong wind is one of the reasons for the spread of fires in the Ryazan region. And now the flames have crept up to the settlements. The fires are already located within a five-kilometer zone from the settlements, so people and nature must be protected and fires must be extinguished as quickly as possible.

Another factor is that the fires managed to spread to the Oksky and Meshchersky reserves. Two specially protected natural areas are under threat.

Extinguishing fires in the Ryazan region

The acting governor of the Ryazan region, Pavel Malkov, explained that the area of ​​active burning is 180 hectares, and 9.5 thousand people are engaged in extinguishing. According to him, it is possible to localize the fire within two to three days, and to eliminate it in one to two weeks. Unless there are additional complications. Putin also recalled that the smoke had reached the capital region – in recent days, residents of Moscow and the region could feel a suffocating smog.

“The wind rose is such that it carries smoke from the Ryazan region to Moscow and creates problems for people. Sobyanin is doing the right thing by helping”– said the President of Russia.

The head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, Alexander Kurenkov, noted that the rescuers faced difficulties – when localizing the fires, the firefighters do not have enough tracked vehicles to get to the fire sites in a timely manner. The heavy equipment of the centers of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia has already been transferred to the region.

“The use of all-terrain tracked vehicles shows its high efficiency in fighting forest fires. Unfortunately, we often note its lack on the ground, which reduces the ability of ground groups to timely localize fires”– added Kurenkov.

The fire situation in Russia

The head of state noted that a difficult situation with fires is developing in other regions, including the Nizhny Novgorod Region and the Republic of Mari El.

“Risks of a deterioration in the situation remain not only in the European part of the country, but also in certain regions of the Far East, where the fire situation is traditionally difficult. In this regard, I ask the leadership of the regions and the Ministry of Emergency Situations to take the situation under special control. And at the federal and regional, municipal levels, it is necessary take all urgent measures to eliminate fires and reliably protect people”– said the Russian leader during the meeting.

Putin urged to act proactively, to help people overcome the difficulties that have arisen because of the fires. He also instructed Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Grigorenko to personally visit the fire-prone regions of the country and report to him on the results.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said during the meeting that the capital is ready to help the regions with fire prevention. Moreover, such events need to be held more often, given climate change.

“Where we see that fires constantly break out, there is a danger, especially now with climate change, I think that such situations will occur more and more often, after all, preventive measures must be taken there in advance. We are also ready to assist “Sobyanin added.

The mayor pointed to the example of the capital region in 2010, and also called for preventive measures – to provide the Central Federal District with forest shelterbelts and roads. “So that in the event of a fire it would be possible to quickly and efficiently deliver people and equipment to the center of fires and localize them”Sobyanin explained.

State of emergency due to forest fires

A special fire regime in the Ryazan region has been in effect since July 5. However, by August 22, there were five natural fires in the region, the area of ​​which exceeded 8.6 thousand hectares. In this regard, it was decided to declare a state of emergency.

Rescuers use planes and helicopters to fight the flames. You have to work in difficult conditions – extinguishing begins in the early morning and ends in the evening. Ground crews shed smoldering patches of forest belt, while air support localizes large fires.

On August 19, the state of emergency was introduced in the Nizhny Novgorod region. At that time, the number of strong forest fires increased – the fire area was more than 3 thousand hectares and increased every hour. In such circumstances, it was impossible to delay even a minute. To stop the fire element, several fire teams and equipment were additionally sent to the area.