11,000 Hectares of Land Burning in Abkhazia

A fire is raging in Georgia’s Russian-occupied Abkhazia region. Despite the joint actions of the Russian and de facto governments, the blaze can’t be extinguished at the moment. The local media reports that the fire spread across 11,000 hectares of land.

Strong smoke is being observed in the Sokhumi, Gulripshi and Gagra districts of the region.

Russian aviation is involved in firefighting works. The Mi-8 helicopter and the Be-200 aircraft already used about 651 tons of water to extinguish the fire, which is spreading in several directions. Additional assistance from Russia is expected in the occupied region.

The fire has been raging in Abkhazia for more than a week. 

The human factor, in particular hunting, has been named as the probable cause of the fire.

By Ana Dumbadze