U.S. Sending Disaster Aid for Russian Forest Fires
Washington - The United States is airlifting firefighting equipment to Russia as part of a comprehensive governmentwide response to the severe, ongoing wildfires that have blazed across large areas of Russia in recent weeks.
(Media-Newswire.com) - Washington — The United States is airlifting firefighting equipment to Russia as part of a comprehensive governmentwide response to the severe, ongoing wildfires that have blazed across large areas of Russia in recent weeks.
Two U.S. Air Force C-130 military transports from the U.S. European Command and a charter flight from California were scheduled to land in Moscow on the evening of August 13. Two more C-130 flights were expected to arrive the following day, and a second charter aircraft by August 17.
The technical equipment, valued at $2.5 million, includes water storage tanks, pumps, hand tools, fire-protection clothing and medical kits. The equipment is destined for the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations and the Russian Federal Forestry Agency’s Airborne Forest Protection Service. The overall value of U.S. support was put at $4.5 million.
In addition to assistance from the U.S. federal government, the state of California is donating a planeload of fire-protection clothing, which was identified as a critical need by Russian firefighting authorities.
The U.S. government also has contributed $50,000 to support the operation of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies ( IFRC ) to provide 1,600 victims of the Russian fires with blankets, bedding and food.
“The United States stands with the people of Russia as they fight to contain the destructive spread of wildfires, which have taken lives and displaced many from their homes,” said State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley August 13. “We are taking action to support the heroic efforts of Russian firefighters and emergency responders as they seek to bring these fires under control.”
The U.S. response involves several government agencies, including the U.S. Forest Service ( part of the Agriculture Department ), the Bureau of Land Management ( part of the Interior Department ), the Defense Department, the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations reported that 66 major fires continued to burn as of August 12, with 40 of them in peat bogs, which makes them particularly difficult to extinguish. The fires have claimed 54 lives directly and created thick smog that blanketed Moscow in recent days and posed a serious health hazard. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said the fires have destroyed one-quarter of the country’s farmland used to grow cereal crops.
Under the auspices of the U.S.-Russia Bilateral Presidential Commission, the two countries already have been strengthening their joint capacity to respond to such natural disasters and other emergencies through a working group that links appropriate Russian and American government agencies. This working group listed the exchange of best practices in firefighting as one of its priorities for future cooperation.
The U.S. departments of Agriculture and Interior have a long history of exchanging information and technical expertise with Russian forestry and firefighting agencies in such areas as firefighter training and wildfire behavior.
Russia, in turn, offered assistance to the United States in the aftermath of the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and, more recently, in this year’s oil spill clean-up efforts in the Gulf of Mexico.
An animation provided by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory shows the spread of carbon monoxide pollution originating from wildfires in Russia and western Canada. The animation was created with data from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder instrument aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite.
( This is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://www.america.gov )
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