“The situation is getting worse, and this year we can set a new anti-record.” Greenpeace expert on fires in Russia

The situation with fires in recent years is very bad, and it is already traditional. If the spring fires began to pass a little better due to the fact that it is quite effective to fight the tradition of burning grass (and in spring this is the main cause of fires), then in the summer the situation is getting worse. It is not yet known whether there will be an absolute anti-record this year, but so far we are in a series of the worst years.

The worst of all is the situation in Yakutia, traditionally an alarming situation is developing in the Angara region in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, as well as in the Irkutsk Region, a lot is burning in the Far East, Chukotka and Kamchatka. This year, a rather unusual weather situation is developing, in connection with which fires began unusually early in the Urals. The situation is very bad in the North-West – in Karelia and the Leningrad Region, there are extremely bad weather conditions. The fact is that the weather is unusual and bad for a fire situation with prolonged heat and soil drought. In the North-West, there is a record moisture deficit, including in peatlands, of which there are many. Peat bogs in the Leningrad Region are burning like we have not seen for a decade.

Usually, the peak of fires occurs in the first half of August, that is, we still have at least a couple of weeks of an extremely difficult situation ahead of us. Of course, one must understand that the weather is not causing fires. In our hands, nothing catches fire, and even a heat of 35 degrees is lower than the temperature of a human body. But in such weather, combustible materials are dried, conditions for a fire are created. They occur in 10% of cases due to thunderstorms, and in 90% due to the fault of people. In some regions, fires in felling predominate, and these are not some dark stories, but the most common legal deforestation, on which people arrange bonfires to cook food and warm themselves at night, burn felling residues. According to the rules, they must be burned in winter, but many make their life easier.

Another common cause of fires is abandoned bonfires, which for many seems too commonplace, but in fact it is. Bonfires left by hunters, fishermen, locals and tourists from other regions are frequent causes of fires. For example, in Ladoga in Karelia, now volunteers are putting out fires in the Ladoga Skerries National Park, this is a unique island territory, very beautiful and valuable. More than 30 island fires have occurred in the last month and a half, and all of these fires are due to abandoned bonfires. More and more fires occur every day. We receive challenges including the most beautiful and valuable areas, including World Heritage Sites and National Parks. Most of these fires are caused by people who have come to rest.

Approximately half of Russian forests belong to the so-called “zones of control”. This is a very sly name – in fact, no one extinguishes fires there for economic reasons. It is fires in these “control zones” that are not serviced, no one even tries to extinguish them. It is these zones that make up the bulk of the area of ​​fires, it is they that lead to smoke pollution in cities, in particular in Yakutia, and nothing can be done about it. All efforts of firefighters, volunteers, foresters, aviation forest guards are aimed at protecting populated areas, but this applies only to those fires that someone extinguishes.

Our country was not ready for forest fires, and it remains. The situation remains as bad as in all previous years. This is largely determined by the volume of subventions allocated for forestry and forest fire protection. Unfortunately, the volume of subventions has not changed despite these extreme weather conditions, obvious climate changes, and the fact that in recent years it has become obvious that there is not enough money, people and equipment. For these purposes, approximately 30 billion rubles are allocated per year, with a requirement of at least 100 billion rubles. Under these conditions, it is impossible to ensure the normal protection of forests from fires, in the first place – the response at the early stages. Therefore, now we have the situation that we have.

Funding needs to be increased many times over, this is primarily investment in people and a stake in professional structures. Plus, we need more powerful educational and agitation work, we need to call an early response and strengthen forest protection, but without the help of people and the involvement of society, we still will not do anything. We must stop leaving fires and generally make them in such weather. We must stop throwing cigarette butts, abandon the tradition of burning grass and hayfields. We need to get involved in educational work and join firefighter volunteering.