The death toll from forest fires in Russia’s Ural Mountains rose to 21 on Tuesday, Russian state news agency Tass reported, citing local emergency service agencies.
Throughout the week there have been forest fires in the Kurgan region of the Urals and in Siberia. A resident of Tyumen province in western Siberia died while trying to put out a fire.
According to local authorities, most of the deaths occurred on Sunday in the village of Yuldus in Kurgan province, which is located on the border between the Urals and Siberia.
“The death toll may rise,” regional emergency service officials said.
A state of emergency has been declared in the province, where more than 5,000 buildings have been burned. Fires have also engulfed thousands of hectares in Sverdlovsk province and the Omsk and Tyumen provinces in Siberia.
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During a visit to Kurgan province on Monday, Russia’s Emergencies Minister said the settlements were no longer at risk from the flames, although local media reported on Tuesday that fires were still burning there, as as in Sverdlovsk and Tyumen.
In recent years, Russia has suffered particularly widespread wildfires, which experts attribute to unusually dry summers and high temperatures.
Experts also cited a 2007 decision to disband a federal aviation network tasked with spotting and fighting wildfires. Its assets were handed over to regional authorities, leading to a rapid decline in the force and attracting much criticism. The government later reversed the move and reinstated the federal agency tasked with monitoring the forests from the air. However, their resources remain limited, making it difficult to explore the massive forests of Siberia and the Far East.
Russian President Vladimir Putin urged authorities a year ago Tuesday to take stronger measures to prevent wildfires and increase coordination between different official agencies to deal with them.
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