Russian wildfires 'out of control'

Fears grew today that there are not enough crews to battle the devastating wildfires sweeping western Russia, as the country’s emergency chief said some were out of control.

Tens of thousands of troops and volunteers were helping some 10,000 firefighters battle blazes in more than a dozen western Russian provinces, seven of which were under a state of emergency yesterday.

Emergencies minister Sergei Shoigu said last night there were 246 fires burning on a total of 310,000 acres.

Earlier Mr Shoigu said intense efforts had saved more than 300 towns and villages from destruction in the past day.

“But in some places it is getting out of control,” Mr Shoigu was quoted as telling President Dmitry Medvedev during a meeting near the southern city of Sochi. The reports did not elaborate on the number or location of fires considered out of control.

The blazes, coming after weeks of record-breaking heat and practically no rainfall, have killed 40 people and destroyed nearly 2,000 homes.

The fires also tore through a military base near Moscow, destroying the headquarters building and 13 buildings containing unspecified aviation equipment, the government said.

Mr Shoigu told a televised news conference that “a tense situation” continued in the fight against fires near one of Russia’s largest nuclear research facilities, in Sarov, 250 miles east of Moscow.

The head of the national nuclear agency, Sergei Kiriyenko, was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying some 3,000 workers and volunteers were fighting the fire near the centre.

The Emergencies Ministry criticised local officials yesterday for not doing enough to stem the blazes, despite prime minister Vladimir Putin warning earlier that those who did not respond adequately risked losing their jobs.

“Everyone must realise the measure of their responsibility,” said Vladimir Stepanov, head of the ministry’s crisis centre. Local authorities “must mobilise all their forces, not just sit and wait for fire brigades to arrive”.

But the weather this week will not help the effort, as temperatures in Moscow and to the south and east were forecast to reach 38 degrees Celsius (100 Fahrenheit).

Mr Putin said yesterday he would personally supervise the reconstruction of fire-ravaged homes via video cameras to be installed at each building site and would broadcast the images to the government website.

He has promised new housing before winter for those made homeless, as well as £4,200 in compensation.

But victims have expressed outrage that more was not done beforehand to repel the advancing infernos.

“It was a nightmare,” said Margarita Sholokhova, pacing forlornly near the remains of her home in the village of Kadanok, 90 miles south east of Moscow.

“There were too many fires and not enough firefighters. We stayed in our house until the last possible minute, but the fire came and covered the whole village like a hat.”