Fires destroyed more than 54 hectares of pine forests and forest floor in the Lugansk People’s Republic in the period from June 10 through June 13, the LPR Emergencies Ministry press service reported.
“Over the weekend, 44.55 hectares of needle litter and 10 hectares of young and middle-aged pine forests burnt out,” the report said.
Rescuers have taken part in eight fire-fighting operations since June 10.
On June 10 afternoon, a coniferous forest in Bobrovskoye hunting range, Severodonetsk Forestry caught fire and came dangerously close to a gas distributing substation. The rescuers jointly with Forestry personnel put out the fire at 17:05. Needle litter was destroyed on an area of eight hectares.
On June 11, a fire broke out in a coniferous forest in the Kremenskoye hunting range and approached the Varvarovka village. Leaf litter and coniferous forest burnt down on a 1.5-hectare area.
In Starokrasnyanskoye Forestry, leaf litter was destroyed on the area of seven hectare because of careless handling of fire by unidentified persons, the LPR Emergencies Ministry said.
On June 12, the coniferou forest in the Bobrovskoye hunting range caught fire again and approached houses in the village of Bobrovoye.
Another fire destroyed needle litter on an area of ten hectares in Starokrasnyanskoye Forestry.
On June 13, the Stanichno-Luganskoye hunting range reported that a coniferous forest fire was approaching a petrol station. The fire was extinguished at 04:55 on June 14. It destroyed dry grass on a 5-hectare area, young pine trees on an area of three hectares and a middle-aged pine forest on an area of seven hectares.
The LPR Hydrometeorology Centre announced high fire hazard level in the Republic from June 12.
The LPR Emergencies Ministry reminded that making fires in forests and steppes was prohibited during the fire hazard period. Leaving bottles or glass fragments in forest and steppe areas is also prohibited as glass can act as magnifying lens to start a fire. *i*s
