Five big forest fires are reported in Russia's Far East on an area of 80.5 hectares. And five more fires have already been extinguished in an area of 186 hectares.

      There are three wildfires in the Amur region, in an area of 79 hectares, while Chukotka and the Khabarovsk territory reported one small fire each," the Forestry Department of the Far Eastern Federal District said on Tuesday. More than 167 people and 32 units of equipment were enlisted to combat the blazes, including 4 fire airplanes.

      Forest protection services have been replenishing their inventory of fire-fighting equipment ahead of the fire hazard season in the autumn. Amur region's governor Oleg Kozhemyako said that the region was purchasing 83 units of new fire-fighting equipment, including tow trucks, fuel trucks, bulldozers, and tractors. The federal center provided financial assistance, Kozhemyako added.

      The federal budget allocated 249 million roubles for equipping seven fire-fighting/chemical stations the Amur region set up earlier this year, and another 25 million roubles would come from the regional budget, the governor underlined. 

Sources: Interfax ITAR-TASS