Speaking on the conference call, Viktor Zubkov said, in part:

“Today we continue our regular meetings to discuss measures to prevent and fight wildfires in Russia.

The heat is gradually abating, as can be seen in a number of regions. Overall, the situation is under control. A total of 16,800 wildfires have been reported since the beginning of 2011, a 25% decrease compared with the 23,300 fires recorded last year.

Analysis shows that most of the fires, almost 77% of them, have occurred in five regions, namely, the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), the Trans-Baikal Territory, the Irkutsk Region, the Krasnoyarsk Territory, and the Republic of Buryatia.

The main cause of the fires has been human activity, that is, the careless use of fire, a lack of firefighting equipment, and ineffective organisation of firefighting activity. The regions should focus their efforts on addressing these issues.

The situation with wildfires is especially worrisome in specially protected areas. So far this year, 253 wildfires have been reported in 59 of the country’s 140 national parks and nature reserves, and the total area burnt is 65,000 hectares. This is an extremely large area. The scope of damage from these wildfires is wider than when they occur in other forest areas. I would like the Nature Ministry to report on the situation and on the measures that are being taken in this regard.

Today we will be hearing from the leadership of the regions hit hardest by the wildfires. In our last conference call, we adopted a number of measures for the Arkhangelsk Region. Specifically, the Federal Agency for State Reserves and the Emergencies Ministry were instructed to have fuel from the reserve made available to firefighting aircraft, and the Transport Ministry jointly with the Energy Ministry were charged with the task of enhancing fire safety within the right-of-way of railways, power lines and pipelines. Please report on what has been done, on what measures have been taken.

There were two major fires in the Volgograd Region on July 27-28. I was personally involved, along with the Emergencies Ministry, in supervising firefighting efforts at Kamenny Buyerak. I want to hear from regional leadership what could have caused the fires.

We need to ensure that those violating fire safety rules in forests face criminal and administrative penalties. The regions have been given all the necessary authority to enforce fire safety rules in the forests. Not all of the regions have been active in this respect. While charges have been filed in connection with all 40 major wildfires in the Republic of Tuva, in the Sverdlovsk Region they have so far failed to file any administrative charges following the 124 major wildfires in the region.

The Interregional Cooperation Plan has been working quite well. A number of regions, including the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), the Arkhangelsk Region, and the Irkutsk Region have already received assistance as part of the plan.

A total of 20.9 billion roubles have been allocated to the regions from the federal budget. Of this amount, the regions have already received 15.7 billion, or 100% of the allocations earmarked for the first six months of 2011.

The regions should use all these funds to purchase equipment and train personnel. In the Republic of Tatarstan and the Murmansk, Vologda, Vladimir, Kurgan, and Nizhny Novgorod regions those in charge have been quite efficient in purchasing and using new equipment. I would like to thank these regions’ leaders for their responsible approach.

In many regions, monitoring and early fire detection equipment is actively used. The Leningrad Region is a good example. Other regions should be using this kind of equipment as well. The sooner you detect a fire, the sooner you can extinguish it.

Regional and local authorities should do a better job of educating the public in fire safety rules and more actively involve volunteer firefighters and students in patrolling forests.”