Vegetation fires in Armenia on the rise
03.07.2018,
17:48
The number of vegetation fires and the affected areas have increased in Armenia over the last five years, said today Vrezh Gabrielyan, the Deputy Director of the Rescue Service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations.
YEREVAN, July 3. /ARKA/. The number of vegetation fires and the affected areas have increased in Armenia over the last five years, said today Vrezh Gabrielyan, the Deputy Director of the Rescue Service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations.
He said in 2013 there were 1,370 reported fires affecting 3,094 hectares of vegetation. In 2017 their number grew to 2,278 affecting a total of 12,814 hectares and 90% of fires were caused by negligence and non-compliance with safety rules, and less than 10% have natural causes.
He said the fire hazard has grown dramatically in first days of July, due to very high temperatures and the forecasts for the next few days indicate that all must observe strictly safety rules in the forest areas and on vegetation-covered territories.
He stressed that the Ministry of Emergency Situations is doing everything to prevent fires, but it needs also the help of f the Ministry of Nature Protection and local self-government bodies.
"It is better to spend more money on prevention of natural disasters than spend huge amounts on eliminating their consequences and compensating for the damage," Gabrielyan stressed.
He noted that after last year's fires, the Ministry of Emergency Situations acquired a large number of necessary technical means to extinguish forest fires, in particular, special water cannons, pumps, drones and all-terrain vehicles.
In the summer of 2017, a number of regions were affected by severe fires. The biggest was in Khosrov Reserve. It broke out on August 12 burning hundreds of hectares of vegetation. -0-
He said in 2013 there were 1,370 reported fires affecting 3,094 hectares of vegetation. In 2017 their number grew to 2,278 affecting a total of 12,814 hectares and 90% of fires were caused by negligence and non-compliance with safety rules, and less than 10% have natural causes.
He said the fire hazard has grown dramatically in first days of July, due to very high temperatures and the forecasts for the next few days indicate that all must observe strictly safety rules in the forest areas and on vegetation-covered territories.
He stressed that the Ministry of Emergency Situations is doing everything to prevent fires, but it needs also the help of f the Ministry of Nature Protection and local self-government bodies.
"It is better to spend more money on prevention of natural disasters than spend huge amounts on eliminating their consequences and compensating for the damage," Gabrielyan stressed.
He noted that after last year's fires, the Ministry of Emergency Situations acquired a large number of necessary technical means to extinguish forest fires, in particular, special water cannons, pumps, drones and all-terrain vehicles.
In the summer of 2017, a number of regions were affected by severe fires. The biggest was in Khosrov Reserve. It broke out on August 12 burning hundreds of hectares of vegetation. -0-
