One of these volunteers is Konstantin Krivoshapkin, Rector of the Arctic State Agrotechnological University in Yakutsk.
He and 32 students at the university went out for just over a week to help put out fires that threatened a village.
- We bought equipment, such as masks and shovels, and went there to make sure the fire did not reach the village.
We succeeded, but sometimes there were catastrophic situations.
And many became smoke-poisoned, he says.
Area as large as India
Yakutsk is the capital of the Sasha-Yakutia region and is located in the area of Siberia that is worst affected by forest fires right now.
The barren, warm climate in the region has meant that the fires have been able to take hold quickly and spread over huge areas of land.
- The region is as big as India.
Imagine India burning, that's about it.
People will not be able to put out these fires, it takes huge downpours for that, says Konstantin Krivoshapkin.
The fires have been raging for weeks in Yakutsk, which, along with 47 other inhabited areas, has occasionally been shrouded in thick fire smoke.
Authorities recommend people stay indoors with closed windows.
- You can smell the smoke all the time.
It comes in and fills the whole house as soon as you open a window, says Konstantin Krivoshapkin.
Three degree heat increase
According to the Yakut mayor, this is the driest and hottest summer in 150 years.
The region has declared a state of emergency and banned residents from being in the forest from 1 July.
- We will have to get used to this.
The fires get bigger every year.
And the main reason is global warming.
The temperature here in northeastern Russia has risen by three degrees in recent years.
It is a disaster, says Konstantin Krivoshapkin.