Opening the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich stressed that the goal of the meeting was to evaluate whether the regions are prepared for the upcoming season of increased forest fire hazard, and to identify any problems that could hinder the preparations.
Viktor Maslyakov, Head of the Federal Forestry Agency, pointed out that the wildfire season had already started. Eleven forest fires covering an area of 27 hectares have been put out since January, which is much less than for the same period last year. As of March 29 last year, there were around 46 wildfires affecting an area of 3,000 hectares.
Viktor Maslyakov also said that, according to forecasts, this year's wildfire season could turn out to be quite difficult, with frequent fires expected in the Urals, the Far East, Eastern Siberia, in the Volga region and in southern Russia. In recent months, much has been done to address weak points in fire safety: general wildfire prevention plans have been drawn up and approved. Fire fighting teams in the regions are being provided with more staff and equipment. The federal airborne firefighter reserve has seen an increase in numbers. Therefore, he believes that the Russian regions are ready for the wildfire season and that difficult situations can be kept under control.
The meeting participants presented reports on preparations in the Moscow and Tomsk regions, the Trans-Baikal and Krasnoyarsk territories and the Republic of Yakutia. Representatives of the regions pointed out, in particular, that there are still outstanding bills for fire fighting services. This could adversely affect the involvement of airborne fire fighting teams and the fire fighting campaign in general. The current debt is around 1.5 billion roubles.
Arkady Dvorkovich stressed that the issue must be resolved without fail and instructed the Finance Minister to submit proposals by next week on repaying the outstanding debts.
