As of the morning of May 11, firefighters in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone had managed to contain a large-scale forest fire that had engulfed an area of 1,200 hectares. The Chornobyl Radiation-Ecological Biosphere Reserve has reported this.
Despite the successful containment, the fight against the fire continues. Currently, rescue workers and foresters are focused on extinguishing isolated pockets of smoldering and burning stumps in several forest districts to prevent the flames from spreading again.
A large-scale task force has been deployed to combat the fire, comprising units of the Kyiv Regional State Emergency Service and forestry workers.
"A total of 326 rescue workers and 78 pieces of equipment have been deployed to extinguish the fire," the agency noted.
To ensure the most effective monitoring and detection of hidden smoldering hotspots, specialists are actively using unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as watercraft, which allow them to monitor the situation in hard-to-reach areas along the banks of the Prypiat and Uzh rivers.
Despite the scale of the incident, there is no threat to the population due to changes in radiation levels. Specialists are constantly taking measurements and report that the radiation background in the area of the fire remains stable and does not exceed permissible limits, fluctuating between 0.17 and 0.32 μSv/h. Rescue services continue to work in an enhanced mode until all signs of burning have completely disappeared.
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, cesium levels have risen in the Chornobyl zone due to forest fires, but there is no threat to the population.
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