Forest fires in Russia close to nuclear facility

August 3, 2010 by timbercommunity

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday ordered Emergency Situations Minister Sergei Shoigu to draw up a special program to boost the firefighting service. He said there was a pressing need to adopt "advanced firefighting equipment, modern fire safety systems."  he said: "Separate funding will need to be set aside for that," Russian President Dmitry Medvedev released a video address to the country in response to the forest fires, which are raging out of control. 
 
Fire close to the nuclear facility in Sarov - sister city to Los Alamos
Forest fires are approaching the secret nuclear arms plant in the town of Sarov. Sergey Vladilenovich Kiriyenko head of Rosatom, the state nuclear energy corporation said "There is no threat to the facilities at the federal nuclear center. Nor is there an environmental threat or a threat of explosion,"
A large force with 3000 people, 4 helicopters, 4 airplanes and 30 fire trucks also combats fires around the former top secret nuclear facility. The city of Sarov remains a closed city with entrances and exits carefully monitored by armed guards at the periphery. The city disappeared from unclassified maps in 1946, the same year the All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Experimental Physics built the weapon design facility. A formal request by the people of Arzamas-16 in August 1995 led Boris Yeltsin to officially change the name of the city back to its historic name of Sarov.