The area of the forest fire in the state forest nature reserve «Semey Ormany» turned out to be significantly larger than the preliminary estimate. According to data from the fire monitoring system NASA FIRMS, the fire covered approximately 1,676 hectares, whereas previously it was reported as 370 hectares.
HOW THE FIRE AREA WAS VERIFIED
According to NASA FIRMS (Fire Information for Resource Management System), the area of the fire in «Semey Ormany» reached approximately 1,676 hectares (16.76 km²). This is more than 4.5 times the preliminary estimate.
On 18 July Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Yerlan Nysanbayev reported that the fire area in the reserve was 370 hectares. According to him, it was premature to talk about containment at that time — a decision was planned after an aerial survey of the area.
WHAT IS KNOWN ABOUT THE FIRE
According to the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, the forest fire started on 16 July 2026 in block 57 of the Kamyshenskoye forestry division of the Borodulikha branch of «Semey Ormany».
Personnel from the state forest nature reserves «Semey Ormany» and «Ertis Ormany», subordinate to the Committee of Forestry and Wildlife, forces of the RSE «Kazavialesookhrana», as well as units from the Ministry of Emergency Situations (MES), Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), Ministry of Defence, National Security Committee (NSC) and local executive bodies were involved in fighting the fire.
A total of 769 people, 191 ground vehicles and 8 helicopters took part in the extinguishing. Since the start of the operation, aviation has made 319 water drops, delivering 709 tonnes of water to the fire site.
According to the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the fire was contained on 18 July 2026 at 09:45. Work continues to eliminate individual smouldering pockets and to soak the area.
During the active phase of the fire, officers of the Police Department (PD) of the Abay Region organised the evacuation of 190 children and 20 staff from the nearby children's camp «DosbolLike».
CONTEXT
In June 2023, a major forest fire occurred in «Semey Ormany», which, according to official data, resulted in the deaths of 14 forestry workers. The fire area was 60 thousand hectares.
Subsequently, the Court of the Borodulikha District of the Abay Region found two former heads of the reserve and the Novoshulba branch guilty. According to the court, they failed to fulfil their duties regarding the organisation of firefighting, made an incorrect assessment of the situation and did not ensure compliance with safety requirements during the work. Each was sentenced to 7 years in prison.
After those events, the issue of the readiness of forest services for the fire season was repeatedly raised at the Government level. Following one of the inspections, the Ministry of Ecology reported the insufficient readiness of a number of state forest owners, including the «Semey Ormany» reserve. Among the identified problems were a shortage of firefighting equipment, communication tools, specialised machinery and stocks of fuels and lubricants.
Earlier, during a press conference of the Central Communications Service (SCK) on 30 April 2026, the founder of the FBRK and journalist Kirill Pavlov asked representatives of the Committee of 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 is planned until 2035, but restoring the forest to its previous state will take about 60 years.
