Villagers fight advancing flames
Russian forest fire:
Armed with just spades and sand from a nearby river, villagers in
Zdorovie near Moscow joined firefighters to save their homes from flames
engulfing an adjoining forest.
Zdorovie, some 50 kilometers (31 miles) east of Moscow, had been
spared from wildfires that enveloped western Russia for two weeks, but
on Tuesday the first flames and smoke rose from the neighbouring woods.
The fire surged, spurred by a six-week heatwave that had dried grass
and soil, and reached the lower branches of trees to the villagers’
horror. Firefighters, helped by water bombing helicopters and local
volunteers, battled to beat back the flames before they crossed the road
separating the village from the forest.
“I look there to see if I have to leave or not,” Lyubov Kharlamova,
62, said, clutching a religious icon in one hand.
“I pray that all this ends,” because “if the fire crosses the road,
our houses are doomed.” Spades in hand, Zdorovie locals threw soil and
sand as firefighters wielding hoses ridden with holes sprayed water
pumped from the local river.
“I am no firefighter but a local, and I help so that my house does
not burn,” said a man who gave his name as Vadim, stripped to the waist
due to searing heat.
Vladimir Solovyov, an emergency ministry employee who also owns a
dacha in the village, rushed to help his neighbours.
“I am here as a civilian to help because my house is here. I do not
fear so much for it, if it burns, we will restore it, but my family, my
children, and other people also live here,” he said.
“Luckily we have a river,” the 30-year-old added. Forest fires had
already ravaged many villages, two military bases near Moscow and
threaten several nuclear installations, as well as killing at least 54
people according to preliminary reports.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday authorities said they were making progress in
fighting fires that still covered 174,035 hectares of land.
Russia’s emergencies ministry said that over the past 24 hours, 247
new fires had appeared, more than the 239 had been put out, and 557
fires were still raging across the affected region. The authorities have
come under pressure to explain the magnitude of effects of the heatwave,
which meteorologists have said is the worst in the 1,000 years of
recorded history in Russia.
The heatwave has had a huge impact on all areas of Russian society
and economists have warned the record temperatures could have cost the
country up to 15 billion dollars and undercut a modest economic revival.
Worst hit has been agriculture, which has seen 10 million hectares of
land destroyed.
AFP |