N. Khorasan Fire Extinguished

A huge wildfire in the forests of Razojorgalan County of North Khorasan Province was successfully extinguished after a six-hour effort by border guards, the provincial Agricultural Jihad Organization, the Red Crescent Society and locals. The blaze hit the forests on Aug. 29 at about 11 a.m. and spread over 10 hectares of woodlands due to strong winds, IRNA reported. Thanks to effective measures by relevant organizations, the number of fire incidents has reduced significantly this year.  "In the first three months of the last Iranian year (March 20-June 20, 2016), 2,250 hectares of forests burned in 270 incidents, whereas in the same period of current year, fire incidents dropped to only 20," Nasser Moqaddasi, the deputy head of Forests, Range and Watershed Management Organization, had said earlier.  According to forestry officials, 95% of all wildfires in Iran are manmade, 30% of which are intentional. On average, forest fires inflict losses worth 3.2 trillion rials ($84.2 million).