Officials resort to artificial rain to tackle raging wildfires in Siberia

24 July 2017 (The Siberian Times) – Fires have wreaked havoc this summer, with Yakutia and the Yamalo-Nenets autonomous the latest to be hard hit.
Clouds are being spiked with a special compound over remote areas of Yakutia to force rain in forest infernos.
The skies are cannoned from An-26 planes with silver iodide or liquid nitrogen by forestry fire fighters, provoking 50 minutes of rain across a 30 kilometre area.
An 18,000 hectare fire in Viluisky district is being targeted, some 425 kilometres northwest of regional capital Yakutsk.
Firefighters are also using explosives to remove obstacles and build mineral lines to block the spread of fires.
Yakutia has some 12 wildfires.
In Yamalo-Nenets officials reported 47 wildfires across 2,097 hectares after a blast of hot weather. […]
Emergency measures are in place in 17 regions and republics in Siberia and the Russian Far East.
Locals in many regions say the summer forest fires are are worse each year as temperatures rise. [more]