Despite the overall rigid climatic conditions and the high variety of natural landscapes, stipulated by the large territory of the country, forests grow practically in all landscape zones of Kazakhstan, and the republic has a large forest Fund. Due to its high calorific value the wood is used as environment friendly cooking fuel. Due to its unique root system and drought-adapted leaves Saxaul can successfully grow in arid regions. Fires occurring on these territories cause high losses in the agriculture and forest sectors. Therefore, systematic wildfire protection is a requirement for state forest and agricultural enterprises.
Fires usually occur in the early spring and autumn, especially in dry years.
All steppe vegetation and crops often suffer from man-caused fires, mainly from agricultural burning. After drying, the steppe phytomass becomes a dangerous combustible material. In the indicated forest types fires are common even in wet years. Fires in pine forests of Sary-Arka represent a major factor damaging the forest economy. The total area occupied by these forests comprises more than 473,000 ha.