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Wildfire near Russia's Urals nuclear center extinguished

© Photo : Denis TkachenkoWildfire near Russia's Urals nuclear center extinguished
Wildfire near Russia's Urals nuclear center extinguished - Sputnik International
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A wildfire moving dangerously close to the nuclear research center in the Russian Urals town of Snezhinsk has been extinguished, the local emergencies service said on Tuesday.

A wildfire moving dangerously close to the nuclear research center in the Russian Urals town of Snezhinsk has been extinguished, the local emergencies service said on Tuesday.

"The hotspot in the Snezhinsk forest has been extinguished," a statement said.

The fire was sparked on Friday, quickly spreading across an area of 10 hectares. On Monday, the affected area was decreased to 5-6 hectares.

The Snezhinsk nuclear research center was established in 1955. It specializes in the technical aspects of producing and testing nuclear weapons and conducts nuclear research.

Earlier, emergency measures against the spread of wildfires were stepped up in the town of Ozersk in the Chelyabinsk region where one of Russia's largest nuclear-waste plants, Mayak, is based.

The Mayak plant, which makes tritium and radioisotopes from decommissioned weapons and waste from nuclear reactors, is about 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the Snezhinsk nuclear research center.

A scorching heat wave has gripped much of European Russia since mid-June, sparking wildfires and causing the worst drought in decades.

Thousands of emergency workers and military personnel have been working round the clock for almost three weeks to fight the fires in 22 Russian regions, which have so far killed more than 50 people and left over 3,500 homeless.

The NASA Terra and Aqua satellites registered 377 hotspots from wildfires across Russia on Monday, down 65 from Sunday.

The record-breaking heat wave in central Russia will continue through mid-August, meteorologists say.

 

MOSCOW, August 10 (RIA Novosti)

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