Siberian Wildfires Reach 3.5M Acres Across Krasnoyarsk and Sakha Republic
Authorities have blamed the fires on summer heat and Siberian silk moth infestations, which have killed off vast swaths of trees and left behind highly flammable deadwood.
Wildfires in Siberia have intensified, covering an area of approximately 3.5 million acres, equivalent to the size of Connecticut. In the Krasnoyarsk region, 128 active blazes have burned through 405,800 hectares, while 36 fires raged across 987,067 hectares in Sakha, Russia’s largest ethnic republic. The Aerial Forest Protection Service reported that over 1.3 million hectares of wildfires were raging across the entire country.
Authorities attribute these fires to scorching summer temperatures and infestations of Siberian silk moths, which have decimated extensive forests and left behind immense amounts of dry, combustible debris. In response, the Krasnoyarsk region declared a wildfire emergency on June 10, restricting public access to forests, lighting campfires, burning trash or grass, and engaging in any other activities that pose a fire risk.
The fires are primarily concentrated in four northern districts, accounting for roughly three-quarters of the Krasnoyarsk region's area. Satellite monitoring by the EU’s Copernicus unit revealed that these wildfires have been burning with particularly intense flames since late July.
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