Altaisk, Rajab 19, 1433, Jun 9, 2012, SPA -- The areas of forest fires in Tuva decreased in half to 3,500 hectares over the past 24 hours. However, the adverse weather conditions complicate the fire fighting operation, Itar-Tass quoted the Russian Emergencies Ministry's regional department as saying in Kyzyl. As of June 9, there are 13 wildfires on a total area of 3,500 hectares, 1,400 of which are in forests. Five large conflagrations on 2,800 hectares were extinguished. Seven were localized. At the same time, four new fires broke out on 17 hectares. Nevertheless, the total area of fires decreased in almost half and more than half in the forests. The dry weather with the wind of 18-25 m/sec seriously complicated the work of forest guard services on June 8. It rained slightly only in the western Bai-Taiga district. At present, there are six active fires in the republic. A total of 289 people are fighting the blaze. Forty seven units of machines, including six aircraft, are used in the work. Ninety eight parachutists from the federal reserve of the central air forest guard base and special aircraft are actively participating in the operation.
