Area Of Fire In Chernobyl Zone Forestry Increases To 86 Acres- Ukrainian Emergency Service

The area of fire on the territory of a forestry located in the exclusion zone of the now-defunct Chernobyl nuclear power plant has increased to 35 hectares (86 acres) due to wind gusts, Ukrainian State Emergency Service said on Tuesday

KIEV (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 07th April, 2020) The area of fire on the territory of a forestry located in the exclusion zone of the now-defunct Chernobyl nuclear power plant has increased to 35 hectares (86 acres) due to wind gusts, Ukrainian State Emergency Service said on Tuesday.

The emergency service said earlier in the day that rescue workers continued extinguishing the fire, covering around 11 hectares.

"As of 14:15 [11:15 GMT], the fire has spread, following wind gusts, through the grass to the 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th quarters of the Kotovsky forestry, to an area of up to 35 hectares," the Ukrainian State Emergency Service said in a statement.

According to the service, two Mi-8 helicopters have been deployed to the site, and 10 units of equipment will be sent there from the Zhytomyr region in northern Ukraine.

Fire-fighting planes have already dropped 72 tonnes of water on the fire. The service noted that background radiation in Kiev and Kiev region was within the normal range.

On Saturday, a forest fire broke out near the village of Volodymyrivka, located in the forestry. The second fire started on Sunday near the Rahivka village 50 miles northwest of the first one. The first and second blazes initially covered areas of 20 hectares and 5 hectares, respectively. Ukrainian law enforces have identified the perpetrator, who claims he has set grass and garbage on fire "for fun". A criminal case has been opened.