Wildfires beaten back in Moscow region, Mordovia

The area affected by wildfires raging in central Russia was reduced by more than 2,500 hectares on Tuesday, Vladimir Stepanov, chief of the Emergencies Ministry Control Center for Crisis Situations, has told reporters.

Successful firefighting efforts may prompt the lifting of the state of emergency in the Moscow region and the republic of Mordovia, he said.

The blaze was put out at more than 300 hectares in the Ryazan and Vladimir regions, the ones that were to blame for the suffocating smog that blanketed Moscow recently.

“This shows that the smog will not be as thick as last week,” the official said.