In the Republic of Yakutia, a state of emergency was introduced due to forest fires, the head of the region, Aisen Nikolaev , published a corresponding decree on his Telegram channel.
He claims that 34 new fires have been discovered in the forests of Yakutia over the past 24 hours, the number of natural fires has increased to 60. “Despite the fact that the number of forest fires is now several times less than in the same period last year, in order to mobilize resources to prepare for At the peak of the fire hazard, I decided to introduce an emergency regime on the territory of the republic, ”Nikolaev writes.
Earlier, the authorities decided not to put out fires in Siberia and the Far East, explaining this as "economic inexpediency."
In May, the Ministry of Emergency Situations reported that since the end of April, 16 people have died due to forest fires in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, Kurgan, Kemerovo, Irkutsk, Omsk and Novosibirsk regions.
During the meeting, which took place on May 10, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the responsibility for extinguishing fires lies with the heads of the regions. He said that he would sign a decree on assessing the effectiveness of the actions of regional authorities in the fight against forest fires.
Earlier, in Nazyvaevsk, Omsk region, which was also affected by fire, the mayor of the city, Viktor Lupinos, was detained in connection with the fires. He has been charged with abuse of power.
“According to the investigation, the defendant did not organize the full implementation of the rules of the fire regime, which led to a significant violation of the rights and legitimate interests of citizens, society and the state, as well as grave consequences – as a result of a fire, at least 100 household buildings were destroyed by fire, which caused damage in on an especially large scale," the Investigative Committee said in a statement.
In the summer of 2021, forest fires also swept Russia. By mid-August, according to Rosleskhoz, the total area affected by the disaster exceeded 16 million hectares. Yakutia suffered the most. Greenpeace expert Grigory Kuksin told The Insider that the fire situation in Russia has only gotten worse in recent years. Their main cause is the human factor.