Moscow, Jul 7 (IANS): Wildfires have destroyed about 9,000 hectares of taiga -- coniferous snow forests in Russia's Far East since a day ago, forest officials said on Thursday.
Twenty wildfires were reported in Yakutsk, Magadan, Khabarovsk, and Chukotka regions, Xinhua news agency reported.
About 500 firefighters, 46 pieces of equipment and six aircraft were mobilised to fight the fires, the officials added.
The Far East region has witnessed 1,047 forest fires so far this year, far more than 2015.
In recent years, relatively hotter summers in the Russian Far East have created prime conditions for wildfires.