Firefighters and rescuers have extinguished three forest fires in Russia's Far East in the past 24 hours and are still battling another six blazes, the regional emergencies ministry said Thursday.

"As of 8:00 local time on Thursday (2100 GMT Wednesday) six forest fires continue raging in the Far East covering an area of 4.09 hectares," a spokesman said.

Four of the remaining fires are burning in Chukotka, one in the Republic of Sakha and another in Amurskaya Oblast.

Forest fires are common in Russia during the dry and hot summers. The Russian government has fought wild fires for months this year to prevent a repeat of last year's tragedy of massive casualties and a halt to grain exports.

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