Fires: Federal Forestry Agency accused local officials of hiding the scale of the disaster

Due to the concealment by the regional authorities of the real areas of the fire and even false reports of the elimination of the fire, federal assistance arrived in the region only this morning.

Yulia Suntsova, Natalya Seybil

Data on the volume of ignition in the Ryazan region vary greatly.

The area of forest fires in the Ryazan region has increased to 35 hectares, reported on Tuesday, August 16, in the FBU "Avialesookhrana", and this is almost 40% of the area of all forest fires recorded at that time in 53 outbreaks throughout the Russian Federation.

In the next two days, the area of fires in the region increased five times and, according to officials, reached 181 hectares. As of today, according to the Acting Governor, the area covered by fire is 800 hectares.

How did a disaster of this magnitude happen 200 kilometers from the capital?

The people of Ryazan have been sounding the alarm all week. In Moscow, the damage from the fires was realized this morning, when the smog, which came from the south of the capital, stretched towards the northwest, and then reached the central historical districts of Moscow.

Rosselkhoz accused the authorities of the Ryazan region of concealing the real scale of the disaster, if this had not happened, the damage could have been minimized, the department believes.

“The forestry authorities of the Ryazan region and natural areas missed the situation with forest fires and hid real areas, which did not allow the federal forces to build up in time,” Rosselkhoz said.

Today, the grouping of forces to eliminate fires has been reinforced with aircraft from the Ministry of Defense and the Government of Moscow, fighters and special equipment from the Avialesookhrana, the Russian Emergencies Ministry, the Pozhles State Budgetary Institution, and federal paratroopers from Yoshkar-Ola. Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology Alexander Kozlov instructed the head of Rosleskhoz Ivan Sovetnikov and his deputy Alexei Venglinsky to go to the region and personally coordinate fire extinguishing.

On the afternoon of August 18, the head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations , Alexander Kurenkov, arrived at the most difficult outbreak near the village of Deulino. According to the Ministry of Emergency Situations, four centers of forest fires continue to operate in the Spassky, Ryazansky and Rybnovsky districts of the Ryazan region.

“Organize work to upgrade and increase the mineralized fire-prevention belts around settlements, taking into account the current fire situation. It is necessary to ensure a ban on conducting hot work on agricultural lands and near settlements in order to prevent the spread of fire on the territory of the forest fund. Strengthen control over the implementation of measures for the fire-prevention arrangement of forests by tenants of forest plots. Introduce a ban on visiting forests until the situation improves,” the minister gave instructions to the governors of the Central and Volga federal districts.

Acting Governor of the Ryazan Region Pavel Malkov today reported on his telegram channel that he had held a meeting on the fire situation with the participation of the relevant structures of the region.

According to the leadership of the region, at the moment there are five hotbeds of natural fires on the territory of the Ryazan region. The total area covered by fire is 800 hectares, fires - 84.8 hectares. In four areas - in the Moscow military forestry, part of the Oksky biosphere reserve and the Meshchersky national park, burning, according to the acting governor, is localized.

The most difficult situation is on the territory of the Kudoma forestry. The main forces and equipment for extinguishing are now concentrated here: 240 firefighters and rescuers, 78 pieces of equipment, including three helicopters: BK-117 - for aerial reconnaissance, KA-32 and MI-26 - for extinguishing fires.

By now, the fire is ground-level, the spread of fire has been slowed down due to mineralized bands, but the situation may change if the wind intensifies, the press service of the head and government of the Ryazan region reports.

Residents of villages 20 kilometers from the outbreak in the Meshchera National Park began to suffocate from the pungent smell as early as August 17, some, without waiting for the help of the authorities, began to evacuate on their own.

In the meantime, the Administration of the Spassky municipal district of the Ryazan region, meanwhile, said that the fires were localized, and the evacuation of settlements was not carried out, since no one lives in squares 52 and 53, where the fire is raging, and in the villages of Stary and Novy Kudom closest to the outbreaks.

- On the territory of the Spassky district, a mode of operation of MF communication with a forest fire was introduced on the territory of the Kudymsky district forestry on an area of about 600 hectares. The fire is grassroots with the transition to the riding. The necessary amount of forces and means was attracted to extinguish the fire, meals were organized for the participants, dry rations were sent and hot meals were provided. The nearest settlement is 4 kilometers away, the number of houses is six. No one lives in settlements, evacuation is not required. ATC officers guard this territory in order to ensure security, - NI was told in the department for civil defense and emergency situations of the Spassky district of the Ryazan region.

The fire is also being fought in the Oksky Reserve, which borders on the Spassky District. The guarding and watering of the territory is being carried out, the plowing of the territory has been carried out. Local officials who visited the emergency zone believe that the fire cannot be eliminated for several days.

“We pray that it will rain,” said an employee from the Civil Defense and Emergencies Department of the Spassky District in an interview with NI.

The movement of fire towards the village of Deulino was recorded. Yesterday, on August 17, there was heavy smoke, on August 18, due to a change in wind direction, it decreased.

- The Spassky district, bordering ours, is on fire. Smoke comes from there, it turns where the wind goes. Evacuation is carried out when there is a threat to the settlement. Nothing is on fire yet, so there is no threat. They are extinguishing in the neighboring area, - Alexey Pavlov, deputy head of the department for civil defense and emergency situations, Klepikovskiy district, Ryazan region, commented to NI.

“People started leaving their homes as early as Wednesday evening. There was nothing left to breathe. Firefighters were driving, but they themselves almost suffocated. The wind is towards Deulin. The fire flies in the wind at 50-70 meters per minute, they cannot stop it yet. My parents' houses in Deulino may burn down already tonight, - says an eyewitness.

The civil initiative group for extinguishing fires, which has quickly developed in the Ryazan region, has united about 200 residents of nearby villages today. The leader of the group, Andrey Reshetov , told NI that over the past two days, money has been collected for food, water, and gasoline.

- Residents of the villages of Deulino, Kartanosovo, Popovka joined in. The second day we buy food, water, and on several cars, quad bikes through all the cordons we carry those who put out the fire. We also help to coordinate fire groups, show the shortest paths to the places of burning. Extinguish only employees from official structures, volunteers and civilians are not allowed to enter the places. The fire, of course, was missed, initially they worked poorly, but now additional forces have been sent from Moscow. A young forest is burning, which has grown over the past 12 years since the last big fire in 2010. The situation after the arrival of federal aid is generally under control. But the forest is large enough, only rain can put it out, which is not expected in the coming days. If the wind intensifies and changes direction, there is a threat to residential villages.

This morning, on August 18, fire brigades arrived in the villages of Deulino and Golovanovo, “where there is no one to save”, the Il-76 helicopter completed its first approach. Rescue units and vehicles for evacuation to temporary accommodation centers were deployed to protect the population. Organized round-the-clock duty of the forces of the Ministry of Emergency Situations.

“There is no threat to settlements. We will take all necessary measures to protect residents and settlements in the zone of potential danger. It is important once again to carefully work out a possible scheme for evacuating people from the fire zone, including their accommodation," Acting Governor Pavel Malkov insists.

The consequences of the flattering fires near Ryazan are being felt in Moscow for the second day. The day before, residents of the capital complained about the smell of burning in the south and south-west of the city, by the morning of August 18 it reached the north-west, as well as the center of Moscow. “The metropolitan metro also smells of burning,” RIA-Novosti notes. The areas of the capital were enveloped in smog, visibility on the streets of the city deteriorated. “The towers of Moscow City, usually clearly visible from the center of the capital on the Garden Ring, are now barely distinguishable,” the message says.

Earlier it was reported that forest fires in August spread to many regions of the country, including the Ryazan and Nizhny Novgorod regions. People suffering from allergies and asthma have worsened health problems.

According to scientists, due to global warming, over the past 20 years, the area of forests destroyed by fires on the planet has doubled .

According to the latest data from FBU "Avialesookhrana", at 00:00 h. On August 17, 2022, 47 forest fires are active in the Russian Federation, the area covered by fire is 91.309 hectares, including 21 forest fires were localized in the area covered by fire, 22.296 hectares.

The fire season is open in 83 constituent entities of the Russian Federation.

The emergency mode was introduced in 6 constituent entities of the Russian Federation: throughout the territory of the Republic of Komi, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, in the Vorotynsky municipality of the Nizhny Novgorod region, in the Ust-Donetsk municipality of the Rostov region, in the Nadymsky, Shuryshkarsky municipalities of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, in Ust- Maisky municipality of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).

A special fire regime has been introduced in 61 constituent entities of the Russian Federation.

The largest fires, to extinguish which federal forces were involved, in addition to the Ryazan region, were recorded in Yakutia, the Magadan region, the Komi Republic, the Nizhny Novgorod, Sverdlovsk, Rostov regions, in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, the Republic of Tyva, Karelia, in the Arkhangelsk and Kirov Regions, Perm Territory, Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug, Vologda, Kaliningrad, Orenburg Regions, Republic of Mari El. Today, 69 aircraft are involved in the aviation monitoring of the forest fire situation.

According to official data, there is no threat to settlements and economic facilities, the projected costs of extinguishing fires exceed the predicted harm that they can cause.