Peat fires extinguished in four districts of Moscow region
"Peat fires are down in Kolomna, Noginsk, Pavlov-Posad and Orekhovo-Zuyevo districts," he said.
The works continue round the clock, and peat bogs are being irrigated, the official said.
As of August 8, the Moscow region had had 76 fires on the total area of 251 hectares. "There were 29 fires of 124 hectares in the Moscow region this morning. Ninety percent of all fires were put down from August 8 through 13," he said.
No one died in the wildfires, and 67 villages were saved from blaze, Chupiyan said.
Emergency Situations Minister Sergei Shoigu said that the irrigation of peat bogs had been coordinated with Moscow Regional Governor Boris Gromov and Presidential Representative to the Central Federal District Georgy Poltavchenko. "Hopefully, the work will be done very quickly," he said.
Water is being pumped to peat bogs in three districts of the Moscow region. The Emergency Situations Ministry is doing that together with the Defense Ministry, Shoigu said.
The federal budget will assign 300 million rubles for peat bog irrigation in the Moscow region, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday.
Shoigu hopes to put down peat fires in the Moscow region within the next seven to ten days.
All the Russian forces are cooperating in the extinguishing of wildfires, Shoigu said. "That was not easy. The Emergency Situations Ministry amassed as many forces from regions as it was possible. Things were more complicated in case of the Defense Ministry but that was done too," he said.
The Russian wildfire situation is unique, Shoigu. "That is a unique situation, which cannot be compared with wildfires in Greece or in California. We are studying techniques of putting down peat fires, which are being used in Germany. This is the first time Russia has encountered such a situation. We are studying every manual written after the fires of 1972 and 1976," he said.
The proper analysis will make Russia prepared for peat fires in the future, Shoigu said.
In all, the area of wildfires in Russia shrank by 126,000 hectares, from 190,500 to 64,900 hectares, in the past five days, the minister said.
"There are no more wildfires in 14 regions. A total of 166,000 people with 26,500 pieces of machinery, aircraft and new technologies are fighting remaining wildfires. Fifty-seven aircraft, including 44 Russian, are taking part in the operation," Shoigu said.
The situation is the worst in the Moscow region, Mordovia, Nizhny Novgorod, Ryazan and Sverdlovsk regions, he said, Kazinform cites Itar-Tass. See www.itar-tass.com for full version.