All forest fires were localized in the Sverdlovsk region. The fire area makes about 1,500 hectares. Some 28 burning fires were localized and do not spread any longer, the press service of the regional Ministry of Natural Resources told Itar-Tass on Tuesday. The negligent attitude of people remains the major reason for fires, ecologists said. “Most fires spread from the burning dry grass on the croplands, some from dumping sites, railways and highways,” the press service reported. Ecologists name the early spring and dry forests after a dry autumn as the second reason for sweeping fires. From the beginning of the fire-prone season 1,180 fires on an area totaling 24,008 hectares were reported in the forests of the Sverdlovsk region. An average fire has an area of 20 hectares. The authorities allocated 35 million roubles for the air reconnaissance and the monitoring of the fire situation in the forests of the Sverdlovsk region. Ten firefighting stations were set up to keep special firefighting machinery, firefighting equipment and outfits. The firefighting stations were deployed to protect settlements from the forest fires. In 2007 203 forests fires broke out in the region inflicting damages of more than 55 million roubles. Spring fires have already burnt down over 2,500 hectares in the region this year.
