Russia's Ryazan Region Authorities Say Wildfires Caused By Dry Thunderstorm

A dry thunderstorm, a natural phenomenon occurring in dry conditions and low humidity, ignited wildfires in Russia's Ryazan region, the regional government told Sputnik, citing their deputy head

RYAZAN (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th August, 2022) A dry thunderstorm, a natural phenomenon occurring in dry conditions and low humidity, ignited wildfires in Russia's Ryazan region, the regional government told Sputnik, citing their deputy head.

"According to Dmitry Filippov, deputy chairman of the regional government, the cause of the wildfires was a dry thunderstorm. He said this at an operational meeting in Pozhles (local forest fire center) in the morning, when he was reporting on the situation to (acting governor Pavel) Malkov," the regional government said.

On Wednesday, Malkov said that there were five active wildfires in the Ryazan region. As of Thursday morning, only three of them remained, ravaging a total of 181 hectares (447 acres) of land. Additional wildland firefighter units were deployed from the neighboring Moscow region and the capital.

Earlier on Thursday, Federal Agency for Forestry (Rosleskhoz) blamed the forestry authorities of the Ryazan region for hiding the real scale of forest fires, which did not allow for the timely build-up of the federal forces.