The fire situation in the Kostanay region remains serious. In the Denisov district, 11 fires were recorded in a single day.
HOW MANY FIRES WERE RECORDED IN 24 HOURS
On 8 September, 11 fires were recorded in the Denisov district. The spread of the fire was fuelled by high temperatures, dry weather and wind.
In the village of Antonovka, three houses caught fire. Firefighters and local residents managed to prevent the fire from spreading to the residential street.
WHERE THE SITUATION WAS MOST DIFFICULT
At the same time, a major wildfire broke out in the Karabalyk district. A report of the blaze came in at around 14:30 on 8 September.
According to the Department for Emergency Situations (DES) of the Kostanay region, steppe vegetation caught fire, and the flames then partially spread onto the territory of the Kara dum forestry.
HOW THE FIRE CROSSED THE BORDER
According to the DES, the wildfire spread into the Karabalyk district from the territory of Russia. More than 100 people and over 25 units of equipment were involved in extinguishing the fire, and a helicopter was also deployed.
The area initially affected by the fire was estimated at approximately 150 hectares. Later, on 9 September, the Ministry for Emergency Situations (MES) reported that the wildfire had been fully extinguished across an area of around 850 hectares. According to official data, there were no casualties.
WHY THE FIRE DANGER REMAINS
Despite forecast rainfall, on 9 September high and extreme fire danger persists in parts of the region. High fire danger is expected in the north-west of the area, while extreme danger is forecast for the south, south-east and central parts.
Rain and thunderstorms are also forecast for the region, although wind gusts of up to 15–20 m/s are expected in some areas.
CONTEXT
The Kostanay region has faced large-scale wildfires before. In September 2022, fire swept through the territories of the Basaman and Semiozerny forestry enterprises, as well as the villages of Amankaragai and Ozernoye in the Auliekol district, and the region spent several years dealing with the aftermath of that fire. According to the MES, the flames engulfed 43,000 hectares, resulting in one death and 12 people suffering injuries, burns and poisoning.
The fire in the Auliekol district also had legal consequences. In November 2023, in the case of the former director of the Basaman forestry enterprise, Asgat Zhakashev, the court handed down a guilty verdict, sentencing him to 4 years and 6 months in prison. The court later also ordered him to pay 21.4 billion tenge to the state as compensation for the damage caused by the massive fire.
In September-October 2025, the region's largest steppe fires engulfed more than 2.3 billion m². According to data from the Sentinel-2 and MODIS satellite monitoring systems, the fire covered more than 2.3 billion m².
Hotspots remained active for several weeks, but official sources acknowledged only a small fraction of the true scale.
