Wildfires Raging In Russia's Far East

22 June 2005 (RFE/RL) -- Thirty-five wildfires have engulfed some 1,280 hectares of forests in Russia's Far East.

ITAR-TASS says the biggest blaze has engulfed 500 hectares of taiga in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.

According to the emergencies ministry, nearly 300 firefighters, 17 aircraft and two dozen other firefighting vehicles were trying to put out the fires.

(ITAR-TASS)