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Forest Fires situation in Sakhalin in the media

The fires of 1998 will linger in people's mind for a long time. Since July, the coverage of the fire situation in the local media was like a brief from the frontlines of World War II. Here are several examples.

Newspaper "Soviet Sakhalin" 18.07.98: "... The forest is burning over more than 7, 000 ha in the region. This is in spite of the fact, that 73 fires have been stopped in the last two days. Pogranichny Forest Division of the Pervomaisky Leskhoz faces the worst situation (about 2, 000 ha of forest burn), it is that bad also in Katanglijsky Division of Nogliki Leskhoz (1, 300 ha)."

Newspaper "Gubernskije Vedomosti" 25.07.98 (an interview with the Chief Forester of the Sakhalin Forest Department, S. Kotelnikov): "Our prompt reports say 7, 700 ha of forest is burning...".

"Soviet Sakhalin" 28.07.98.: "... 8,478 ha of forest is burning. As officials from the Sakhalin Forest Department say 35 fire sites have been registered by July 27, 1998. One of the major fire sites, where 2,000 hectares of forest has been destroyed, is in the Pervomaisky Forest Division, the fire has raging over there for 1.5 months...".

"Soviet Sakhalin" 28.07.98.: "...35 fires burn on over 760 ha. By the morning of July 24, 2,035 ha of forest burn in Pervomaisky Forest Division".

"Soviet Sakhalin" 26.09.98: "by the morning of September 24, 1998, the total area of burning fires is 28,136 ha. 19 fires have been localized".

"Soviet Sakhalin" 26.09.98: "as reported by the Sakhalin Forest Department, the total area of forest on fire is 1.1 thousand ha".

We also would like to highlight several problems associated with the terminology used here. In fact, few journalists of non-specialized media are aware of the difference between "forest lands" and "forest", or between "forest lands" and "lands of forest fund". The same concerns such notions, as "a burning fire site", "damaged by fire", etc. As a result, articles in the press do not always give the clear idea of the situation . In addition, officials from the Sakhalin Forest Department, when speaking with the media, have shared only reassuring and calming information up to late August 1998. As a result, alarming news entered the central and local media not earlier than late September. At the same time, when we speak about forest fires, we should properly appreciate the role of media. It is a factor, that is able to encourage federal and regional authorities to make prompt decisions to allocate additional funds, or to transfer funds from other regions in order to enhance efficiency of fight against fire. But the media's capacity was not fully employed in this situation, which is why federal support was either insignificant or late. The response of regional authorities was also insufficient. All these things account for underreporting by the Sakhalin Forest Department, when they extended the scales of the calamity. For instance, "Soviet Sakhalin" reported 26.09.98 about 28,136 ha as about the total area on fire, but the "Gubernskie Vedomosti" (Regional News) said, 1,1 thousand ha was the total area of burning fire sites. Whereas in virtual reality, over 106 thousand ha of forest lands had been damaged by fire.


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