Donetsk, Sep 2 - DAN. The fire that broke out at the Khomutovskaya Steppe - Meotida biosphere reserve burnt grass on an area of 25 hectares, the Donetsk People’s Republic Emergencies Ministry press service reported on Thursday.
“The fire in the Khomutovskaya Steep - Meotida specially protected area in the village of Khomutovo, Novoazovsky district broke out overnight to Thursday,” the report said. “It destroyed 25 hectares of dry grass.”
Nature reserve staff joined the firefighting efforts which involved five pieces of equipment and two dozen people overall. Fire damage estimates were not reported.
Khomutovskaya Steppe - Meotida is located in the Novoazovsky district in southern DPR. The biosphere zone area of the protected territory makes up some 50 percent of all nature reserve zone of the DPR. The 18,000-hectare territory includes 7,746 hectares of the Sea of Azov. The flora features some 600 plants including endangered species. It is also a habitat of dozens of species of mammals, amphibians, reptiles, fish and more than 1,500 species of insects.*jk