Firefighters in Russia's Far East put out all

Rescuers and firefighters in Russia's Far East put out seven forest fires out of eight raging in Russia's Far East over the past 24 hours, a spokesman for the local emergencies ministry's department said on Friday. "Only one active forest fire was registered in the Far Eastern territory as of 8:00 local time Friday [21:00 GMT Thursday]. The fire is located on the territory of the Chukotka autonomous district and covers an area of eight hectares," the spokesman said. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev completes on Friday his two-day visit to the Far Eastern city of Vladivostok, which prepares to host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in 2012. Wildfires in forested regions of Russia are common during the dry and hot summer season. Most of the time, the fires start because of the careless behavior of local residents in the woods. Forest fires devastated a number of regions in central Russia last summer, killing 62 people and leaving thousands homeless.