This aerial picture taken from an airplane on July 27, 2021 shows a burning forest at Gorny Ulus area, west of Yakutsk, in the republic of Sakha, Siberia. (DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP via Getty Images)
Several wildfires in the Siberian wilderness have grown together to become larger than all of the other wildfires in the world combined. Reports on Friday said the fires have burned 62,000 square miles of Russian wilderness and have continued to expand towards more populated regions.
More than 8,600 emergency workers have been working to try and gain control of the blazes. Meanwhile, reports said record heat and dry spells have been fueling the infernos in the region, which sees wildfires each year.
NASA said smoke from the fires has expanded to the North Pole for the first time in recorded history. “Our goal is to bring the fire under control. But this fire is so big that is it, let it say, very difficult to defeat it with such small resources,” said firefighter Vladimir Baybachenko.
This aerial picture taken on July 27, 2021, shows a burned forest at Gorny Ulus area west of Yakutsk, in the republic of Sakha, Siberia. (DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP via Getty Images)
Russian authorities have issued a state of emergency for the region, warning of worsening air quality as the fires move south.
Source: One America News Network
