Recent reports showed 89 wildfires in Siberia and 25 in the Russian Far East as a new season of damage to forests gets underway.

Residents of Krasnoyark take to boats to go to work, while an unusual July snowstorm hits Yakutia.

One man's carelessness causes 'fire tornado' which destroys 59 houses, another avoidable blaze razes 17 homes, as state of emergency called.

Roads blocked, planes diverted due to low visibility, schools shut, people advised to stay home.

Fires have wreaked havoc this summer with Yakutia and the Yamalo-Nenets autonomous the latest to be hard hit.

Premier Dmitry Medvedev warned it will take two to three weeks to extinguish the fires raging across Siberia.

With smoke having blown as far as the US and Canada, experts now say 'the trend is positive' in controlling fires raging from the Urals to the Pacific.

Firefighter proposes to teacher from top of fire truck steps at her open classroom window.