A forest fire has once again broken out in the state forest nature reserve "Semey Ormany" in the Borodulikha district of the Abai region. More than 250 people, aircraft, and dozens of pieces of equipment have been deployed to fight it, and 190 children have been evacuated from the nearby children's camp "DosbolLike".
WHAT HAPPENED
According to the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, the fire was recorded in block 57 of the Kamyshenskoye forestry unit of the Borodulikha branch of the state forest nature reserve "Semey Ormany".
86 employees of the state forest protection service, 38 employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations (MES), 101 police officers, as well as aircraft from the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the Ministry of Defence, and RSE "Kazavialesookhrana" are involved in extinguishing the fire. Helicopters have already made 24 water drops, and additional forces and equipment are being dispatched to the site. Efforts to contain the fire are ongoing.
HOW SAFETY IS BEING ENSURED
According to the Police Department of the Abai region, after receiving the report of the fire, police officers arrived at the children's camp "DosbolLike", located near the fire zone, and organised the evacuation of 190 children and 20 staff members.
The police reported that the children were led out in an orderly fashion to prevent panic. The youngest children were carried by staff to a safe place. According to information from the Department of Emergency Situations of the Abai region, two children were collected by their parents, while the rest were evacuated to the village of Borodulikha.
The dangerous area is currently cordoned off, and access roads are closed to non-essential traffic. Police are ensuring unimpeded access for fire engines, escorting emergency service convoys, and managing road traffic.
WHAT IS COMPLICATING THE FIREFIGHTING EFFORT
According to the Ministry of Ecology, a class five fire danger rating remains in effect in the fire area. The air temperature is reaching +34 degrees, and the north-westerly wind speed is 4 m/s with gusts of up to 8 m/s.
It is worth noting that the forest fire in "Semey Ormany" is developing against the backdrop of a complicated fire situation in other regions of the country as well. According to the Ministry of Emergency Situations, in the Akmola region, firefighters have extinguished dry vegetation fires in the area of Stepnogorsk, as well as near the villages of Baykonys, Bestobe, Izobilnoye, Bogenbay, and Selety. According to the agency, these fires were caused by lightning strikes.
CONTEXT
The current fire has occurred in the same state forest nature reserve "Semey Ormany" where, in June 2023, a major forest fire occurred. According to official data, 14 reserve employees died then, and the area of the fire exceeded 60,000 hectares.
Subsequently, the court of the Borodulikha district of the Abai region found two former heads of the reserve and the Novoshulbinsk branch guilty. According to the court, they failed to fulfil their duties regarding the organisation of firefighting, allowed an incorrect assessment of the situation, and failed to ensure compliance with safety requirements during the work. Each was sentenced to 7 years in prison.
After those events, the issue of the forest services' preparedness for the fire season was repeatedly raised at the government level. Following one of the inspections, the Ministry of Ecology reported insufficient preparedness of a number of state forest owners, including the "Semey Ormany" reserve. Problems identified included a shortage of firefighting equipment, communication tools, specialised machinery, and fuel and lubricant stocks.
Earlier, during a press conference of the Central Communications Service (CCS) on 30 April 2026, the founder of the FBRK and journalist Kirill Pavlov directly asked representatives of the Committee for Forestry and Wildlife how long it would take to restore "Semey Ormany" after the 2023 fire. In response, the acting chairman of the committee, Maksat Yelemesov, stated that the roadmap extends to 2035, but that restoring the forest to its previous state would take around 60 years.
