Regional authorities allocated 40.5 million rubles to detect fires in forests and tundra in preparation for the 2024 fire danger period, the Chukotka news agency reported on March 25.
The Department of Ecology and Natural Resources Management of the Chukotka Autonomous District approved 15 land and 9 air routes for patrolling forests with a total length of 1.7 and 5.5 thousand kilometers, respectively.
“We are preparing aviation to monitor and extinguish forest fires: contracts have been signed for 6 aircraft. Including 4 aircraft (2 Robinson helicopters and 2 SK-12 amphibious aircraft) for firefighting and aerial surveillance; 2 Mi-8 helicopters – to extinguish. An auction has been announced for the acquisition of two more Mi-8 helicopters and we plan to conclude the contract by April 8,” the department said.
Agreements were signed with 36 employees of the parachute fire service. Three observer pilots have been hired, a flight engineer is undergoing training at Avialesookhrana and another contract will be signed before the start of the fire season. In total, this year 48 parachute firefighters and 5 observer pilots are expected to participate.
Transfers of forest and landscape fires to the territory of populated areas of the Russian Federation occur annually. On February 15, 2023, at the expanded meeting of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia, the head of the ministry, Alexander Kurenkov, said that in 2022, due to the hot weather and almost complete lack of precipitation, there will be 56 crossings of these types of fires. to populated areas were recorded in 22 regions of the Russian Federation. The fire damaged or destroyed 61 residential and 305 non-residential buildings. In total, according to calculations by the Ministry of Emergency Situations, more than 23.5 thousand settlements in the country are at risk of natural and landscape fires.
Recall that in 2021 the total area of forest fires in Yakutia amounted to about 8.5 million hectares. This is the largest number of forest fires that have occurred in Russia in the last ten years. According to Green Peace estimates, the fires destroyed record amounts of forests in Yakutia. Additionally, wildfires significantly increase permafrost degradation.
Source: Rossa Primavera
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