More than 130 families lost their homes in forest fires in the Sverdlovsk region
Six major fires had ravaged villages in the Ural region, with a devastating toll of 178 destroyed structures, including 134 residential buildings. The village of Sosva suffered the most, with 110 homes burned to the ground and the tragic loss of two lives - a 61-year-old man and, presumably, an elderly woman whose remains were found by rescuers. The owner of the house was reported missing.
The situation was so dire that around 600 residents of Sosva had to be evacuated, along with 240 convicts from a nearby treatment and correctional facility of the Federal Penitentiary Service. The authorities were blamed by residents for allowing a local lumber yard to burn trash, potentially fueling the fire.
Other villages in the region were also hit hard, with more than 20 homes lost in Tayozhny. An outbuilding caught fire in Karpinsk, causing damage to nearby houses. People were forced to panic and carry their children and belongings away from the flames.
Governor Yevgeny Kuyvashev responded by putting the Sverdlovsk region on high alert.
More than 100 large forest fires have already been extinguished in Russia this year alone. In the Ryazan Region, a fire engulfed forests for the first time in 12 years, causing smoke to cover Ryazan and Moscow. Rosselkhoz accused officials of hiding the scale of forest fires, highlighting the seriousness of the situation.