Keep battling wildfires in Russia’s far east

Firefighters and rescuers extinguished 20 forest fires and managed to contain 10 more in Russia\'s Far East over the past 24 hours, the regional department of the Russian Emergencies Ministry reported on Thursday. Some 500 people, 65 specialized vehicles and eight aircraft, including five helicopters, are involved in extinguishing wildfires, which continue to rage in the region and covered an area of some 500 hectares over the past 24 hours, the department said in a statement. The dry winter, the early onset of warm weather and strong winds, as well as the locals’ habit of burning away old grass in the spring have resulted in an unusual amount of wildfires across Siberia and the Far East starting last month. In 2010, central Russia was blanketed by wildfires, which covered some 200,000 hectares of land and filled many cities, including Moscow, with acrid smog.