You're reading: Wildfires in Russia continue raging over 11,000 hectares

Moscow, August 20 (Interfax) - Since the start of summer, over 7,000 forest and peat fires have been registered covering 430,000 hectares in the Central, Volga and Urals federal districts of Russia, Interfax was told by the Emergency Situations Ministry.

"Over 200 new fires were registered a day on average and 95 of them were localized or extinguished the same day," the ministry said.

As of Friday there remains 313 wildfires still burning covering 11,000 hectares.

"The size of the fires has contracted more than 30 times" from their maximum size, a ministry spokesman said.

The situation has been bad in Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Ryazan, Vladimir and Sverdlovsk regions and in the republics of Mari El and Mordovia. Wildfires damaged 134 towns and villages, fully wiping out eight. Over 5,000 people were evacuated from danger zones and settlements were set up.

Aircraft and helicopters from the Emergency Situations Ministry made over 2,000 flights pouring over 73,000 tonnes of water over fires.

Thanks to these efforts over 4,500 towns and villages were saved and wildfires put out in 19 territories of Russia, the ministry said.

Over 166,000 people were involved in putting out the blazes and used 26,500 vehicles and pieces of equipment, including 49 planes and helicopters.

Several foreign states helped Russia by sending over 500 personnel and about 100 vehicles and pieces of equipment, including 13 planes and helicopters.

Earlier on Friday, President Dmitry Medvedev lifted a state of emergency earlier declared in the Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod regions and in the republic of Mordovia.