Several houses and a local store caught fire in Borzya, a town in Zabaykalsky Krai in the Russian Far East, reports Russia’s Emergencies Ministry (“MChS”).
The fire started in the surrounding steppe, gradually moving into town.
By 6 p.m. on Monday, 13 locals, including five children, were left homeless as a result of the fire. Three single-family homes and a four-unit apartment building have burned down to the ground.
Every spring, steppe and forest fires break out across Russia, often spreading to towns and villages. Russia’s rural fire-fighting service is often too slow to get to remote areas, where locals are left to their own devices.
