Hundreds of homes burned in Siberia

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Hundreds of homes have burned in widespread fires in southern Siberia, Russia, in recent days. Many people died.

East and west of the city of Krasnoyarsk, in the region of the same name, several communities were destroyed by large fires.

At least seven people, including two children, are reported to have died in fires in various locations. About a dozen people, including several firefighters, were reportedly taken to hospital.

On Sunday morning, the region’s authorities announced the destruction of 518 residential buildings, more than 300 other buildings and 61 cars, according to RBK TV channel and Kommersant newspaper.

One of the causes of the fire is a short circuit in the power lines, at the same time it is dry on the ground and strong winds. Severe weather has been reported in southern Siberia in recent weeks.

Hundreds of firefighters are said to be battling a total of about 20 wildfires in an area spanning up to 1,000 hectares.

About 100 kilometers southeast of the city of Krasnoyarsk, in a village in the Irkutsk region, it was burned about 30 dates (summer hut). And the governor of Irkutsk announced, according to the Interfax news agency, that one of the pensioners died there and about 150 people were evacuated.

Official emergencies have been issued in several regions, due to severe weather conditions.

Also last year, huge fires broke out over several million hectares of forest in Siberia, but especially then in northeastern Yakutia. The driest and warmest summer on record in 150 years.