Death toll from Russian wildfires reaches 50, blazes continue to rage as record heat persists
By APThursday, August 5, 2010
Russian wildfires death toll reaches 50
MOSCOW — Russian officials say they have recovered a body from a provincial village gutted by wildfires, while another victim has died in the hospital, taking the death toll from hundreds of blazes nationwide to at least 50.
The Emergencies Ministry said in a statement Thursday that almost 600 separate fires were still raging, mostly in Russia’s European territory, to the west.
A thick smog that had blanketed Moscow partially lifted early Thursday but could return, officials warned.
Russia is suffering through its worst heat wave on record, pushing forest and peat fires across its central and western regions. Temperatures for weeks have soared as high as 38 Celsius (100 Fahrenheit) in Moscow, where the average summer temperature usually is around 23 Celsius (75 Fahrenheit).
