Firefighters Continue Battling Forest Fire in Eastern Kazakhstan

Open flames have been extinguished in a major forest fire at the Semey Ormany State Forest Nature Reserve in the Abay Region, but crews are continuing round-the-clock efforts to eliminate smoldering hotspots, Orda.kz reports.

The fire broke out in the reserve’s Borodulikha branch and spread across an estimated 60 hectares. Emergency workers, forestry personnel, police and military units were deployed to the area, supported by aircraft from the Emergency Situations Ministry, Defense Ministry and National Security Committee.

As the fire threatened to spread, rescuers, police and the local Akimat evacuated the Dos-bolLike children’s camp. A total of 220 people — 190 children and 30 staff members — were taken to Semey. Authorities later said the nearby village of Kamyshenka was no longer under threat.

As of 7:00 a.m. on July 17, the operation involved 769 people, 191 ground vehicles and eight helicopters. Aircraft have conducted 219 water drops since the response began, delivering 474 tons of water.

Thanks to the coordinated and prompt actions of all the services involved, open flames have been extinguished. Work is now underway to eliminate individual smoldering hotspots. Personnel continued efforts to contain the fire throughout the night,the Ecology Ministry said.

Teams have been sent on foot into hard-to-reach areas to tackle remaining hotspots, while helicopters continue dropping water on the most difficult sections. Additional emergency crews arrived from the Abay, East Kazakhstan and Pavlodar regions, as well as Astana.

Emergency Situations Minister Chingis Arinov and Ecology and Natural Resources Minister Yerlan Nysanbayev traveled to the region on Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov’s instructions. Abay Region Akim Berik Uali also visited the fire zone. An operational headquarters is coordinating the response, while police have restricted access to the area and are protecting residents’ property.

Hot and dry weather continues to keep the wildfire risk high across Kazakhstan. The Ecology Ministry has also reported fires in the Semey Ormany and Ertis Ormany forest reserves and in the Karaganda Region.

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