The Irkutsk government announced the elimination of all forest fires in the region

The government of the Irkutsk region announced the elimination of all natural fires in the forests of the region by September 11.

The last forest fire of 35 hectares in the Bodaibinsky district was extinguished on September 10. At the same time, on September 11-12, an extreme forest fire danger is expected in the Balagansky district of the region.

Severe forest fires were recorded in the summer in the Irkutsk region, Krasnoyarsk Territory and Yakutia. According to Greenpeace Russia, the 2019 fires were the largest in modern recorded history since 2001, with 13 million hectares of forest burned.

A September survey showed that the majority of Russians are concerned about forest fires; they consider the main reasons for the fires to be the desire to hide illegal logging and the negligence of officials.

The Prosecutor General's Office has revealed cases of forest arson in the Irkutsk region. Fires masked illegal logging. The Investigative Committee opened a criminal case of negligence against officials of the Ministry of Forestry of the Krasnoyarsk Territory.

The Ministry of Emergency Situations named the main cause of fires in Siberia as careless handling of fire: most fires are located along highways.

Almost 90% of natural fires are caused by humans: people set fire to grass, throw cigarette butts, and do not completely extinguish fires. The grass sets the forest on fire, villages burn down, and peat fires arise with choking smoke. At the same time, the majority of citizens believe that forest fires are most often caused by natural factors.