Russia's Massive Wildfires Ravage Urals and Siberia, Death Toll Rises.
Wildfires have spread across large areas in Russia's Urals and Siberia, with over 130,000 acres of forests on fire in the Sverdlovsk region alone. More than 4,800 firefighters and 6,000 volunteers are battling the blaze, with authorities promising to contain them swiftly. The fires have destroyed over 300 residential houses and 3,900 other buildings in the neighboring Kurgan region, with a number of people killed and injured. Local authorities have declared a state of emergency in Omsk and Tyumen regions due to the fires. Experts blame the wildfires on unusually dry summers and high temperatures, exacerbated by the 2007 decision to disband a federal aviation network tasked with spotting and combating fires.
