The Russian authorities are trying to minimize the impact of this disaster. The affected population is being evacuated, and provided with temporary shelter and food. The Sakhalin Emergency Commission is implementing an action plan aimed at stabilizing the situation. Dozens of volunteers have joined the firefighters. The fires are most fierce in mountainous, remote zones that are difficult to reach.
Dense smoke is frustrating the fire-fighting operation.
Locals have been forbidden to go near forest areas that have been declared to be under a state of emergency, and local police have been ordered to patrol the forests' major points of entry. A collection of charitable donations for victims left homeless by the fires has been organized by the region's Social Protection Fund. The Government of the Russian Federation is taking steps to provide assistance to the Administration of the Far East Region in coping with the fire disaster. Food for the fire- fighters is also in short supply. OCHA, in close cooperation with UNEP, is initiating the necessary steps to help ensure an appropriate international response to the environmental emergency in the Russian Federation.