Despite thousands of additional forces, the helpers are unable to control the devastating forest fires in Russia.

On Saturday, the protection agency reported 252 fires across the country on a total area of ​​4.2 million hectares.

That is again more than the day before and roughly corresponds to the area of ​​Switzerland.

Most of the fires rage in the republic of Yakutia in eastern Siberia.

This is the coldest region in Russia.

Drought and winds have favored the spread of the flames in the sparsely populated area for weeks.

The authorities speak of a "rather difficult situation".

The emergency services are currently trying to prevent the flames from spreading to eleven villages.

For this purpose, wider firebreaks had been struck, it said.

Many houses have already burned down.

Fire fighting planes are in use.

At the airport in the city of Yakutsk, around 4800 kilometers from Moscow, a second runway is now being used to send additional aircraft into the region, according to the authorities.

Take-offs and landings of passenger planes are impaired because of the thick smoke.

Hundreds of villages and dozen of cities are suffering.

Most fires in Russia are not extinguished, according to official information, because they are located in remote areas and do not threaten settlements and infrastructure. In addition, firefighting would be too expensive there. According to the forest protection authority, more than 9,500 people are fighting the flames across the country. Most fires can only be extinguished with heavy rain.

While the affected regions are hoping for rainfall, other areas of Russia have too much of it. The Russian Black Sea coast and once again the Crimean peninsula are particularly affected. According to the authorities, more than 1,300 houses were flooded in the Krasnodar Territory in the south. At least 19 villages are affected. More than 100,000 people are without electricity. Hundreds of people have been brought to safety in the popular tourist city of Anapa. Several holiday camps with a total of 900 children were also evacuated.