The State Forest Service has registered and extinguished 355 forest fires this year. The total area affected by fire on forest lands was 220 hectares, of which 68.5 hectares were young trees. Last year a much larger number of forest fires were extinguished, and more areas were burned out. In 2021, until September 12, 441 forest fires with a total area of 503 hectares were recorded.
"In general, the hazardous period of 2022 is considered to be relatively calm, indicated by both the number of fires and the burned areas. Although the summer was hot, due to the regular rainfall, the fire risk decreased," said the service's representative Division Zigmunds Jaunķiķis in a statement.
This year, the largest forest fires were in the territory of the National Armed Forces, where 52 hectares burned.
Similar to previous years, most forest fires have occurred in the vicinity of Rīga and Daugavpils this year. This is due to the large influx of people in suburban forests. In most cases, forest fires have been caused by people's inattentive, reckless and abusive behavior.
This year, arson has been identified in 17 cases.
