KHABAROVSK - Thirty-three forest fires, covering a total area of more than 116,000 hectares of taiga, are still raging in Russia’s Far East, a source at the local forest protection air service told Itar-Tass on Sunday.
The greatest number of fire seats have been reported from the Amur Region and Khabarovsk Territory. The total area of forest fires increased by 113 hectares as of this Sunday.

About 15 outbreaks of forest fires are located from two to ten kilometers away from populated centers, an official at the Far Eastern emergency situations department reported.
A total of 348 people were mobilized for fire-fighting operations. More than 60 units of machinery and 14 planes and helicopters are being used in the fire-fighting efforts.
Over 116,300 hectares of forest and 77,200 hectares of other lands in the Far East have burned down since the beginning of the fire-prone season and the damage exceeds five times the 2004 figure.
Thousands of hectares of forest have been fully destroyed or seriously damaged in the Komsomolsk, Botchinsk and Sikhote-Alin nature preserves.