Mamytbekov doesn't link fire in Ile-Alatau national park with fallen trees

Kazakhstan Minister of Agriculture Assylzhan Mamytbekov does not link the fire in Ile-Alatau National Park with the fallen trees left after last year’s hurricane, Tengrinews.kz reports. “For some reason they link it to the fallen trees, while there is no connection. We have had 400 wildfires this year. The weather is extremely hot. It is 40 degrees centigrade in Almaty now and it has been like that for a long time. Everything is dry, that’s why a fire can happen anywhere. You see that Spain and Greece are fighting with wildfires, Russia has huge fires as well. Do not stir things up or jump to conclusions,” Mamytbekov told Tengrinews.kz. According to him, the fire started next to the cable railway, where all the fallen trees were cleaned away right after the hurricane last year. Mamytbekov is currently at the accident site in Almaty. Mamytbekov gave his own version of the fire in the national park. “Right now the reason is not identified yet. Most probably, it is a human factor. It could be a lighted cigarette butt. This is the area with a lot of tourists,” he said on Thursday, August 23. A huge number of trees was fallen by a massive hurricane in Ile-Alatau National Park in 2011. The fallen trees damaged cars and electric lines leaving several regions without electricity. Some of trees even infringed injuries to people and the victims had to be hospitalized. Back then Agricultural Minister talked about a need for the soonest restoration of the forest. KTK TV channel also cited Agricultural Minister as saying that the fallen trees have to be left on the slopes of the mountains in Almaty oblast. “We cannot rush this situation. Everything has to be well-thought-through and justified. Such windthrows are not cleaned off around the world. They are usually left where they are and nature takes care of them on its owns by dissolution and rotting. This way the soil and other flora is not damaged,” Mamytbekov said after the hurricane. Speaking of the firefighting operation on the Mount Mokhnatka Kazakhstan Emergency Situations Ministry Vladimir Bozhko said yesterday that a strong wind was hindering the fire quenching operation: “Besides, sharp slopes of the mountains and the trees fallen by last year’s storm make the fire-fighting and access to fire even more complicated. Tree cutting and fire line plowing are being done to prevent the fire from spreading further and reducing its spread. Helicopters equipped with water-draining devices are involved in the fire-fighting.” By Gulnara Zhandagulova