Wildfires spread in Russia's Far East; Buryatia declares regional emergency

Russia's Buryatia Republic declared a state of emergency on May 13 over massive forest fires that have engulfed multiple regions in the Russian Far East.

Authorities in the republic, which lies some 4,000 kilometers  (2,500 miles) from Moscow and borders Mongolia, said that 22 fires have been recorded in the region, covering an area of 53,000 hectares.

Buryatia's Forestry Agency said that 90% of the 174 forest fires registered since the start of this fire season have been caused by human carelessness.

Even heavier fires have been raging in the neighboring Zabaykalsky Krai, covering 576,000 hectares, the Russian Emergency Ministry said on May 13. A state of federal emergency in Zabaykalsky Krai was announced already in April.

Russian authorities blamed the swift spread of the fires on the wind and dry, hot weather. Wildfires are common in the vast forests of Siberia and Russia's Far East, especially during the dry summer months.

In Amur Oblast, a massive fire reportedly came close to a major highway, though state news agency RIA Novosti reported that the flames there had been extinguished as of May 13.