U.S. sends help as fires close in on Russian nuclear base

The blazes have been sparked by the hottest summer ever recorded in Russia, which has seen the death rate in Moscow alone double to 700 a day.

President Obama has called Russian president Dmitry Medvedev to express his condolences, and the White House said agencies including the Defence Department
were airlifting firefighting gear to Russia.

Russia admitted yesterday that fires closing in on its main nuclear centre represent ‘a certain danger’ to the secret town which houses its most sophisticated research laboratories.

A huge round-the-clock operation is under way to prevent a vast blaze on a nearby nature reserve reaching Sarov, which is so sensitive that it is closed to all foreigners.