A ban on forest visits has been introduced in 54 districts of Belarus. This was announced to journalists by Alexander Ugrin, consultant of the forestry department of the Ministry of Forestry, as reported by a BELTA correspondent.
A ban on forest visits has been introduced in 54 districts of Belarus. This was announced to journalists by Alexander Ugrin, consultant of the forestry department of the Ministry of Forestry, as reported by a BELTA correspondent.
"Due to the high fire hazard, a ban on forest visits has been introduced in 54 districts. Currently, the forests of Gomel Region and Brest Region are completely closed, with the exception of Zhabinkovsky District. The ban has been introduced in almost all districts of Grodno Region, except for Slonimsky and Novogrudsky Districts, as well as in Dokshitsky District of Vitebsk Region and Stolbtsovsky District of Minsk Region. The introduction of bans is aimed at ensuring the safety of citizens, the preservation of their property and the forest fund," said Alexander Ugrin.
Violation of fire safety rules in forests or peatlands, or a ban on visiting them, which does not cause damage, entails a warning or a fine of up to 25 base units (the current base unit is Br24.5). "Since the beginning of the fire hazard season, officials of the State Forest Guard have brought over 200 violators to administrative responsibility," he noted. "In 9 out of 10 cases, the cause of fires is an anthropogenic factor – intentional or unintentional arson."
With the onset of the fire hazard season, over 13,000 specialists from the organizations of the Ministry of Forestry have been transferred to an enhanced duty regime. 252 fire and chemical stations and 663 fire fighting equipment points are in operation. The ground-based forest fire detection system includes 580 fire observation towers and masts, of which over 80% are equipped with video surveillance.