RUSSIA: Siberian town of Tomsk is enveloped in thick smog which forced the local airport to close as forest fires spread across vast areas.

Record ID: 860145

  • Title: RUSSIA: Siberian town of Tomsk is enveloped in thick smog which forced the local airport to close as forest fires spread across vast areas.
  • Date: 27th July 2012
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF PEOPLE LEAVING AIRPORT WITH LUGGAGE
  • Embargoed: 11th August 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Russian Federation
  • City:
  • Country: Russia
  • Topics: Disasters
  • Reuters ID: LVA3F42C2PRSBYAFI9QHE1P3YNO2
  • Aspect Ratio:
  • Story Text: Forest fires continued to rage in Siberia, with regional centre Tomsk being the worst affected.
    Tomsk is enveloped in thick smog which led to the closure of the local airport and dozens of flight delays and cancellations.
    Forest fires already destroyed 15,000 hectares of Siberian forest, the Russian Emergency Ministry said on Friday (July 27).
    Firefighters still tried to put out more than 30 wild fires on Friday, employing helicopters to dump water onto burning patches of forest.
    Fires threaten to spread even more because of abnormal heat and strong winds.

    "Our forecast is that the worsening of the situation is very probable. Therefore, to protect the towns, to prevent the fire spreading to towns, we are reinforcing our response groups," said Sergei Kozlov, first deputy head of the Tomsk regional branch of the Russian Emergencies Ministry.
    In some areas of Russian Siberia this summer is considered the hottest in 170 years of observations.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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