Firefighters put out all forest fires in Siberia

Firefighters and rescuers have extinguished all forest fires in Siberia as they put out the remaining 16 wildfires on an area of 46.45 hectares in the region in the past 24 hours, the regional emergencies center said on Sunday. "Overall, 582 people and 219 pieces of equipment have been employed in the past twenty-four hours to extinguish the wildfires and carry out preventive measures," the emergencies center said. Russia took decisive measures in the 2011 summer season to prevent the developments of last summer, when an enormous heat wave in the country's European part caused massive wildfires, which killed 62 people and left thousands homeless. Wildfires in forested regions of Russia are common during the dry and hot summer season. Most of the time, the fires start because of the careless behavior of local residents in the woods.