File:Smoke and fires in eastern Russia (MODIS 2015-08-16).jpg

English: The 2015 fire season has been intense in parts of western Canada and in the United States. It has also been very harsh on the other side of the Northern Hemisphere, especially in the forests of Siberia.

Fires began igniting in early spring in grasslands of Russia, most likely the result of farmers igniting small blazes to manage farmland. But, by mid-April, an emergency had been declared in Khakassia and over 80 fires were reported in Zabaykalsky Krai. It was reported that the April wildfires killed at least 29, and injured at least 900 people. Smoke from the springtime fires in southern Russia crossed the Pacific Ocean ad reached North America.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA�s Aqua satellite captured this true-color image on August 16. Fires burn east of Lake Baikal (not seen in the image). The Zeya Reservoir and much of the green forestland is completely obscured under the dense smoke.

According to news reports citing Russia�s federal forestry agency, fires in Siberia had burned 1,400 square kilometers (540 square miles) as of August 12. Many of the fires were in southern Siberia, particularly in Buryatia and Irkutsk. According to the Siberian Times, vacationers reported ash on Lake Baikal and the camp sites, and more than 40 people were evacuated.