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Russia Reports Fires Are Shrinking

   VOA News 13 August 2010
   Volunteers  try  to  extinguish  a  forest  fire  near  the village of
   Plotava, 80 km (49 miles) east of Moscow, 05 Aug 2010

Photo: AP

   Volunteers  try  to  extinguish  a  forest  fire  near  the village of
   Plotava, 80 km (49 miles) east of Moscow, 05 Aug 2010

   Russian  officials  are  reporting that the devastating wildfires have
   shrunk by nearly 150 square kilometers within 24 hours.
   A  Russian  emergency ministry official said Friday that the fires are
   being  put  out  and that the situation is under control in Moscow and
   the Ryazan region.
   Still, 810 square kilometers continue to burn in the country where the
   fires have left 52 dead and over 3,500 homeless.
   Emergency  crews  and  equipment are being transferred from controlled
   regions  to  areas,  like  Sverdlovsk,  where  the  flames continue to
   spread.
   U.S.  President  Barack Obama called Russian President Dmitri Medvedev
   Thursday  to  ensure  Russia  that  the  U.S.  is  responding to their
   requests for emergency crews and supplies.
   Moscow also received some relief from the record-breaking temperatures
   early Friday morning with cool rain showers.
   In  addition,  skies over the capital city were clear Thursday, giving
   the  city's  10  million residents desperately needed relief from more
   than a week of a thick, acrid smog blanketing the city.
   Mr.  Medvedev  lifted  a state of emergency Thursday in three of seven
   regions  hit  by  the  worst  of  the  wildfires, which have destroyed
   thousands of homes and crops.
   The  president  says  the  fires,  drought  and  record-heat  wave has
   destroyed  nearly  25  percent  of  Russia's grain crops, leaving many
   farmers close to bankruptcy.
   Prime Minister Vladimir Putin announced a ban on Russian grain exports
   last  week  to  keep  domestic  food  and  livestock  feed prices from
   skyrocketing. The ban could last until end of the year.

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