The firemen have put out 18 fires on 1,017 hectares in Siberia's forests over the past day. However, another 22 forest fires on 1,013 hectares keep burning, a source in the regional emergencies centre told Itar-Tass on Wednesday. The hardest fire situation has emerged in the Kezhem district in north-eastern Krasnoyarsk Territory. Some 12 taiga fires on 812 hectares were reported there. The local authorities have announced an emergency. "Major fires were not reported. Some 396 rescuers and 13 units of machinery are involved in the fire-fighting efforts. A special helicopter Mi-8 dropped nine tonnes of water on the burning forests," a source in the territorial fire-fighting centre said. A team of territorial emergency workers is involved in the fire-fighting efforts. Some 692 people and 60 units of machinery are involved in the wildfire fighting efforts in Siberia. The aviation of the air forest security service and the Siberian regional emergency centre have made 15 flights to airlift paratroopers and machinery to the fire area and for air patrolling over the past day.
