YEKATERINBURG, May 10. Twenty natural fires on an area of 4.6 thousand hectares were extinguished in a day in the Sverdlovsk region, another 20 fires on 23 thousand hectares were localized, informs the department of information policy of the region.
«Specialists over the past day on May 9 managed to eliminate 20 fires on an area of more than 4.6 thousand hectares and localize 20 fires on an area of more than 23 thousand hectares,» the report says.
It is specified that three fires on an area of 7.4 thousand hectares were localized near Verkhnyaya Pyshma, one fire on an area of 4.7 thousand hectares near Asbest, and one fire per 2.5 thousand hectares near Revda. In the Slobodo-Turinsky district, 2.4 thousand hectares of burning forest have been «encircled».
According to the authorities, despite the introduction of a special fire regime, due to the careless handling of fire in the region, 12 new natural fires broke out over an area of 27.2 thousand hectares per day.
Earlier, the governor of the region, Yevgeny Kuyvashev, called the situation critical due to wildfires in the region. Immediately in several towns and villages of different municipalities, the evacuation of residents began last Saturday. A state of emergency has been declared in a number of districts. A special fire regime is in force throughout the Sverdlovsk Region, and the spring hunting season has been suspended until May 15 to prevent the occurrence of forest fires, and visits to a number of natural and forest parks are prohibited.