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State of emergency in Russia's Yakutia expanded over fires

Associated Press

Tags: nature, Environment
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Firefighters and volunteers work at the scene of forest fire near Magan village in Yakutsk region, republic of Sakha also known as Yakutia, Russia Far East, on Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2021. Russian authorities have expanded a state of emergency in northeast Siberia to bring in outside resources to combat wildfires that have engulfed the vast region. Smoke from burning forests forced the airport in the capital of Yakutsk to suspend operations Thursday. (AP Photo/Vasily Kuper)
Firefighters and volunteers work at the scene of forest fire near Magan village in Yakutsk region, republic of Sakha also known as Yakutia, Russia Far East, on Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2021. Russian authorities have expanded a state of emergency in northeast Siberia to bring in outside resources to combat wildfires that have engulfed the vast region. Smoke from burning forests forced the airport in the capital of Yakutsk to suspend operations Thursday. (AP Photo/Vasily Kuper)
An airview of the Byas-Kuel village after a wild fire, in Russia Far East, Sunday, Aug. 8, 2021. A fire engulfed dozens of houses in the village of Byas-Kuel, and all village residents were evacuated, according to the local task force dealing with the emergency. Wildfires in Russia's vast Siberia region are endangering a dozen villages and prompted evacuations and other emergency precautions. Officials said 93 active forest fires burned across 1.1 million hectares (2.8 million acres) of Sakha-Yakutia in northeastern Siberia. (NewsYkt via AP)
Firefighters and volunteers work at the scene of forest fire near Magan village in Yakutsk region, republic of Sakha also known as Yakutia, Russia Far East, on Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2021. Russian authorities have expanded a state of emergency in northeast Siberia to bring in outside resources to combat wildfires that have engulfed the vast region. Smoke from burning forests forced the airport in the capital of Yakutsk to suspend operations Thursday. (AP Photo/Vasily Kuper)
The scene of forest fire near Magan village in Yakutsk region, republic of Sakha also known as Yakutia, Russia Far East, on Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2021. Russian authorities have expanded a state of emergency in northeast Siberia to bring in outside resources to combat wildfires that have engulfed the vast region. Smoke from burning forests forced the airport in the capital of Yakutsk to suspend operations Thursday. (AP Photo/Vasily Kuper)
A boy walks through smoke from a forest fire covers Yakutsk, the capital of the republic of Sakha also known as Yakutia, Russia Far East, Russia, Thursday, Aug. 12, 2021. Smoke covered hundreds of villages in Siberia as wildfires raged for another day in Russia's vast, forest-rich region. Emergency officials in southeastern Siberia's Irkutsk oblast said that smoke from the wildfires in the north and in the neighboring Sakha Republic, covered 736 villages and nine cities in the region. (AP Photo/Ivan Nikiforov)
A man rides his bicycle through smoke from a forest fire covers Yakutsk, the capital of the republic of Sakha also known as Yakutia, Russia Far East, Russia, Thursday, Aug. 12, 2021. Smoke covered hundreds of villages in Siberia as wildfires raged for another day in Russia's vast, forest-rich region. Emergency officials in southeastern Siberia's Irkutsk oblast said that smoke from the wildfires in the north and in the neighboring Sakha Republic, covered 736 villages and nine cities in the region. (AP Photo/Ivan Nikiforov)
Volunteers pause while working at the scene of a forest fire near Kyuyorelyakh village at Gorny Ulus area west of Yakutsk, in Russia Saturday, Aug. 7, 2021. Wildfires in Russia's vast Siberia region endangered a dozen villages Saturday and prompted authorities to evacuate some residents. (AP Photo/Ivan Nikiforov)
A view of Byas-Kuel village, after a wild fire, in Russia's Far East, Saturday, Aug. 7, 2021. A fire engulfed dozens of houses in the village of Byas-Kuel, and all village residents were evacuated, according to the local task force dealing with the emergency. Wildfires in Russia's vast Siberia region are endangering a dozen villages and prompted evacuations and other emergency precautions. Officials said 93 active forest fires burned across 1.1 million hectares (2.8 million acres) of Sakha-Yakutia in northeastern Siberia. (Vadim Skryabin, NewsYkt via AP)
A firefighter stands at the scene of forest fire near Kyuyorelyakh village at Gorny Ulus area west of Yakutsk, in Russia, Saturday, Aug. 7, 2021. Wildfires in Russia's vast Siberia region endangered a dozen villages Saturday and prompted authorities to evacuate some residents. (AP Photo/Ivan Nikiforov)
Firefighters and volunteers work at the scene of forest fire near Magan village in Yakutsk region, republic of Sakha also known as Yakutia, Russia Far East, on Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2021. Russian authorities have expanded a state of emergency in northeast Siberia to bring in outside resources to combat wildfires that have engulfed the vast region. Smoke from burning forests forced the airport in the capital of Yakutsk to suspend operations Thursday. (AP Photo/Vasily Kuper)

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved

Firefighters and volunteers work at the scene of forest fire near Magan village in Yakutsk region, republic of Sakha also known as Yakutia, Russia Far East, on Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2021. Russian authorities have expanded a state of emergency in northeast Siberia to bring in outside resources to combat wildfires that have engulfed the vast region. Smoke from burning forests forced the airport in the capital of Yakutsk to suspend operations Thursday. (AP Photo/Vasily Kuper)

MOSCOW – Russian authorities expanded a state of emergency in northeast Siberia on Friday to help bring in outside resources to combat wildfires that have engulfed the vast region.

Russian Emergencies Minister Yevgeny Zinichev declared the state of emergency for Sakha-Yakutia. The move should help organize the transfer of firefighting resources from other regions to help fight the blazes in Yakutia, which is Russia’s largest territory and bigger than Argentina.

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“It allows us to use the capabilities of the federal reserve more freely and make quicker decisions regarding the federal funding for fighting forest fires,” Yakutia head Aysen Nikolayev said.

Federal authorities deployed 200 additional firefighters, two additional Be-200 amphibious planes and two helicopters to help fight the fires.

The vast territory, also known as Sakha Republic, has faced a spell of particularly devastating wildfires this year following months of hot and dry weather featuring record-breaking temperatures.

On Friday, officials reported 117 active forest fires burning across nearly 1.4 million hectares (3.4 million acres) in Yakutia, which encompasses 308.4 million hectares (762 million acres).

Flames threatened a dozen villages, and several were evacuated this week.

Smoke from burning forests has enveloped wide areas and forced the airport in the regional capital of Yakutsk to suspend operations Thursday. Flights resumed Friday to what is often described as the coldest city on Earth.

In recent years, Russia has recorded high temperatures that many scientists regard as a result of climate change. The hot weather coupled with the neglect of fire safety rules has caused a growing number of fires.

Experts blame the worsening situation with fires on a 2007 decision to disband a federal aviation network tasked to spot and combat fires and turn its assets to regional authorities. The forests that cover huge areas of Russia make spotting new fires a challenge, and the much-criticized transfer led to the force’s rapid decline.

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