Over 1,100 ha of forests on fire in Siberia

More than 1,100 hectares of woods in Siberia is engulfed by wildfires, the regional department of the Russian Emergencies Ministry reported on Monday.

"A total of 16 fire hotspots are active in the Siberian Federal District on a total area of 1,133 hectares," the department said.

"Thirteen of them on an area of 914 hectares have been localized," it said.

Russia took decisive measures in the 2011 summer season to prevent the developments of last summer, when an enormous heat wave in the country's European part caused massive wildfires, which killed 62 people and left thousands homeless.

Wildfires in forested regions of Russia are common during the dry and hot summer season. Most of the time, the fires start because of the careless behavior of local residents in the woods.