Azerbaijan unveils number of people dead in wildfires
By Sabina Mammadli
Throughout the year 2022, a total of 29 people died in fires in Azerbaijan, Deputy Minister for Emergency Situations, Lt-Gen Etibar Mirzayev said.
He made the remarks at a press conference.
"There were 10,900 fires in Azerbaijan this year. Most of them are recorded in forests and in woodlands. As a result of fires, 2,318 cultivated areas burned," he stated.
Azerbaijan's Deputy Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Firdovsi Aliyev said that fires that occurred in Guba, Khachmaz, Siyazan, Shabran, Shaki and Gabala districts covered a total of 5,311 hectares, 779 of them belonged to the lands of the forest fund.
"Unfortunately, the vast majority of fires that first occurred in harvest fields caused huge damage to forest areas, the upper layer of soil, nature as a whole, and its biodiversity. In all cases, nature suffered, hundreds of people and equipment were involved in extinguishing fires, and tons of fuel and water were consumed, which means a lot of damage," Aliyev said.
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