During the last week of summer, 78 fires broke out in the forest areas managed by the State Enterprise ‘Forests of Ukraine’. The fires covered more than 55 hectares. The forests in the Chernihiv and Kyiv regions were the worst affected.
This was reported by the State Enterprise ‘Forests of Ukraine’.
Causes of fires
Fires in almost 76 per cent of the affected area were caused by military operations. The fires were triggered by falling debris from enemy drones and strikes by guided munitions.
Source: State Enterprise ‘Forests of Ukraine’
Weather conditions also contributed to the spread of the fire. Due to the summer drought, the forests are full of dry leaves, grass and pine needles. This plant debris acts as fuel for the fire, which, under such conditions, needs nothing more than a single spark.
Furthermore, fires often ‘spread’ from the plots of neighbouring land users. A similar situation occurred in the Rivne region, where a local rubbish tip was on fire. Due to strong gusts of wind, the fire spread to the territory of the Sosnivskyi Forest District, where it engulfed 9.7 hectares of land. The blaze has now been brought under control with the help of the State Emergency Service.
The regions hardest hit
Over the course of a week, 24 fires broke out in the forests of the Chernihiv region, affecting an area of almost 12 hectares. In the Kyiv region, 33 fires were recorded, affecting an area of 10.1 hectares.
As a result of enemy attacks, forests were ablaze in the Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia and Mykolaiv regions. Minor fires also broke out in a number of regions.
Source: State Enterprise ‘Forests of Ukraine’
Fortunately, the areas affected by the fires within the ‘Forests of Ukraine’ were relatively small — averaging 0.7 hectares. However, in the Dnipro-Teteriv State Forestry and Hunting Enterprise, the area affected by the fire reached around 2,500 hectares. State foresters also helped to bring the fire under control.
"According to weather forecasts, hot and dry weather is set to persist across almost the whole of Ukraine over the coming days, leading to an extreme fire risk. We urge you to refrain from visiting forests. To ensure safe outdoor recreation within the company’s forest estate, there is a network of over 1,100 recreational sites,” the state-owned enterprise emphasised.
As a reminder, back in early August, visits to the forests were banned due to the high risk of fires. You can find out more about the scale of the fires that have already occurred this year in this article by EcoPolitika.
We would like to take this opportunity to remind you that fines are imposed for setting fire to dry vegetation: up to 6,120 UAH for members of the public, and up to 21,420 UAH for public officials and business owners. In addition, you will be required to compensate for the damage caused to the ecosystem. If the arsonists’ actions are on a particularly large scale, this will result in criminal liability.
