Russia Fights 334 Forest Fires Covering 81,321 Hectares, RIA Novosti Says

Russian emergency crews are fighting 334 forest fires covering an area of 81,321 hectares (just over 200,000 acres), RIA Novosti reported, citing an unidentified Emergency Situations Ministry official.

Firefighters extinguished 367 blazes in the last 24 hours, including 47 fires on peat bogs drained for agriculture in the Soviet era, the state-run news service reported today, citing the official.

Russian authorities have deployed 8,902 firefighters to battle the flames across central Russia and 46 aircraft, RIA reported.

Since the start of the fire season, 21,209 fires have claimed 449,634 hectares of forest, RIA said.

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