Semey Ormany wildfire ‘extinguished’, mop-up operations continue

According to the ministry, as of 7:00 a.m., 769 personnel, 191 units of ground equipment, and 8 helicopters have been deployed to fight the wildfire.

Thanks to the coordinated and swift actions of all the services involved, the open flames have been extinguished. Efforts are now focused on eliminating isolated smoldering hotspots. Throughout the night, emergency crews continued working to contain the wildfire, the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry noted that since firefighting operations began, aircraft have carried out 219 water drops, delivering a total of 474 tons of water to the affected area.

Work to fully contain and extinguish the forest fire is ongoing. The situation remains under constant monitoring, the Ministry of Ecology added.

The fire was reported on the morning of July 16 in the Kamyshenka Forestry within the Borodulikha branch of the nature reserve.

Later, 190 children and 20 adults were evacuated from a children’s summer camp located near the forest fire in the Borodulikha district of Abai region.

By afternoon of that day, the wildfire had expanded to 60 hectares.

Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov has dispatched Emergency Situations Minister Chingis Arinov and Ecology Minister Yerlan Nyssanbayev to Abai region to directly oversee containment operations at the Semey Ormany reserve.

The number of personnel involved in extinguishing the wildfire in the region was later increased to 600 people. The operation also involves 148 units of equipment and 7 helicopters.