Over 1,200 hectares of forests on fire in Russia's Siberia

Over 1,200 hectares of forests in Russia''s Siberia are still engulfed by wildfires, the regional department of the Russian Emergencies Ministry said on Tuesday. The forest fires, the department said, have been registered in Siberia''s Buryatia, Trans-Baikal and Tuva regions. Firefighters extinguished 13 forest fires on the total area of 500 hectares over the past 24 hours in the region and continue battling the remaining fires, Russia''s News Agency (RIA Novosti) reported. Wildfires in forested regions of Russia are common during the dry and hot summer season and in the early fall. Most of the time, the fires start because of the careless behavior of local residents in the woods. Forest fires devastated a number of regions in central Russia last year, killing 62 people and leaving thousands homeless