A difficult situation is observed in the upper reaches of the Ili River, there is an increased air temperature and a high dry grass stand, which has remained since last year. An accidental fire in these places can spread to the territory of the state forest fund, so the specialists of Kazavialesohrana started daily patrolling in the foothills. A patrol plane flies along the mountain system of Zailiysky Alatau, the crew's task is to strictly maintain the developed route and carefully monitor the smallest sources of smoke. In the foothills of the northern Tien Shan, a hot time has come, in the literal sense of the word. High average daily air temperatures, unstable weather with thunderstorms and last year's dried vegetation - all this creates the conditions for the occurrence of natural fires.
Yakupzhan Ibragimov, observer pilot of the Almaty air separation:
- Last year, fires arose from lightning discharges. It was in the mountains in the Ili-Alatau National Park that there were cases of fire. This year, while everything is calm, good precipitation has passed, greenery has risen.
The foothills, the delta sections of one of the largest waterways of the country, the Ili River, cause concern, tugai forests grow here, the vegetation of which is rich in combustible essential oils. This region has a high population density. A fire can quickly spread over large areas and if it is not detected in a timely manner, it will become a serious problem even for well-trained local emergency services. Fire can reach the forests, and its localization will take several days. By the way, many animals and birds live in these tugai.
Yakupzhan Ibragimov, observer pilot of the Almaty air separation:
- The protected area with us is completely Ili-Alatau National Park. After it, the route is as follows: Chilka, Kegenya, Kolsai lakes, Chunja, Zharkent, state institutions, leshozes, we return to the site along the headwaters of the Ili River.
The 4th class of fire hazard involves double patrolling, says Yakupzhan Ibragimov. The total length of the route along the mountain system of Zailiysky Alatau is approximately 920 kilometers. A patrol plane is in the air for about 4.5 hours, that is, two flights is a full daylight hours. The maximum height to which the AN-2 rises in the mountains of 2700 meters above sea level is quite enough to detect a natural fire at an early stage and to have time to localize it.
Authors: Grigory Bedenko, Mukhit Kudykbaev
Source: https://khabar.kz/ru/news/obshchestvo/item/125697-v-predgoryakh-tyan-shanya-obyavlen-vysokij-klass-pozharnoj-opasnosti/
