Finnish Foreign Ministry sends request for information on Russian forest fires

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Finland's Foreign Ministry has commissioned the Finnish Embassy in Moscow and the Consulate General in St. Petersburg to gather information on the forest fires raging in North-Western Russia.
      The Russian emergency and forest authorities have been asked to give a report on the extent and amount of fires as well as on the Russian authorities' plans to extinguish them. The diplomatic missions also expressed their concern about the possible health hazards caused by the forest fires.
     
Initially, the Finnish Ministry of the Interior asked the Foreign Ministry to assess the unusual situation following the problems caused by the drifting smoke and after numerous enquiries made by concerned citizens.
     
The Finnish officials use their local networks in Russia in order to get information effectively.
      "It is good to know the right persons in the Russian administration", says First Secretary Marja Liivala of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
     
According to the information submitted by the forest authorities in Moscow and Russian Karelia, a total of 60 fires are raging in Karelia, and some 195 hectares of forest have gone up in flames on the Russian side of the border.
      Currently, 29 separate forest fires are raging in the Leningrad Region alone, burning down 41 hectares of forest near the Finnish border.
     
The Russian authorities report that the majority of fires are under control. However, the forest authorities in the Leningrad Region are expected to send further information on the fires later in the week.
      Since last week, clouds of smoke from the numerous wildfires raging on the Russian side of the border have lowered Finnish air quality readings, particularly in the region of South Karelia. The elevated concentrations of fine particles were at their highest at the Lappeenranta measuring station on Monday.
      On Tuesday, the wind blew the smoke towards the province of Kymenlaakso, causing poor air quality in towns right across South-Eastern Finland.
     
According to the Finnish Meteorological Institute, the wind is expected to blow from the east for the time being, which is likely to result in more smoke coming across the border. Moreover, no rain has been forecast for the south-eastern corner of the country in the near future.
      The situation is not expected to change soon, as most of the fires are situated in roadless regions, hampering access by firefighters, and putting out the flames would require huge resources that are not available.
      However, the officials at the Ministry of the Interior are not gravely concerned about the situation. "It looks very unlikely that the fires themselves should spread to Finland", comments Ministerial Adviser Harry Frelander of the Ministry of the Interior's Rescue Department.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Russian forest fires darken the skies in southern Finland (8.8.2006)

Links:
  The Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland
  The Ministry of the Interior
  Finnish Meteorological Institute

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