On April 17, 2021, the staff of the Barnaul aviation department held preventive lectures
The delta of the Ili river is covered by fires
Fires have been raging in the Southern Balkhash region for almost a week. They spread to the territory of three rural districts. The fire engulfed the entire lower part of the Ili River. Reeds are burning. The film crew of "Khabar 24" visited the site.
Fires in the delta of one of the largest rivers in Kazakhstan occur every year. But this season, apparently, will be a record-breaking one. In the past few years, the fire has not spread over such a huge area. From the side of the patrol plane, you can see up to a dozen fires. Fires in the reeds emit tens of tons of soot into the atmosphere.
Such fires are caused by the local population. There are about a dozen and a half peasant farms in the Balkhash district. All of them mainly practice animal husbandry. And every spring, when the snow comes down, the shepherds set fire to the dry grass. The fire clears the territories for pastures, and the ashes serve as an excellent fertilizer. At the same time, no one follows any safety rules. Specialists of "Kazavialesoohrana" every year explain to local residents that agricultural fires should be carried out before the start of the fire season. But these recommendations are not taken into account.
Grigory Bedenko, correspondent:
- The lower delta of the Ili River is a remote and sparsely populated area. There are almost no roads here, and some places can only be reached on foot or by horse. And when there is a fire, it immediately turns into a huge problem. Therefore, small aircraft in such conditions is simply irreplaceable.
Curiously, the arsonists themselves suffer from fires. In the period from 10 to 15 April in the Balkhash district, the fire caused damage to farms. Even the recreation centers located here, where Almaty residents come to hunt and fish, were affected. For example, in the area of the village of Karoy, the fire destroyed 4 guest houses, a warehouse for fish and two boats. A farm worker was injured. He received burns and was hospitalized in the 4th clinical hospital of Almaty. In the area of the village of Zhelturangy, 5 farms were affected. 11 horses and other domestic animals were burned. The UAZ car was destroyed by fire.
Yakubzhan Ibragimov, pilot-observer of the Almaty aviation department:
- Due to the strong wind that has been in the last 3 days, the fire is rapidly spreading over large areas. Now our main task is to prevent new fires, to detect them in time from the helicopter and plane.
Fires in the reeds cause huge damage to the fauna of the Balkhash region. There are many lakes here, and these are the habitats of many species of waterfowl. In April, swans and pink pelicans, listed in the Red Book, arrive in the Ili Delta. The fire destroys everything in its path, and the birds sitting on their nests have no chance to escape at all. The muskrat dies. Eyewitnesses in social networks report that they noticed the carcasses of wild boars burned alive.
Yakubzhan Ibragimov, pilot-observer of the Almaty aviation department:
- The fire seriously threatened the Akkol forest area. It is not far from the Bakanas district center, and there are territories of the state forest fund. But our paratroopers completely localized the fire in this area. Now we are putting out a fire on the 77th section of the Koktalsky forest area. There are burning reeds flooded with water. That's why the fire is spreading so fast. First, the equipment can not go there, and there are few people. But we try.
Currently, the aircraft and helicopter of "Kazavialesookhrana" patrol the territories covered by fire several times a day. The most important task is to detect new fires in time and quickly eliminate them. The main fires are extinguished by the workers of peasant farms, employees of forestry enterprises and units of the Ministry of Emergency Situations. The regional commission can only calculate the damage, which is growing every day.
Authors: Grigory Bedenko, Nurdaulet Dzhaksybayev
