At the beginning of April, an uncontrolled fire broke out that has devastated thousands of hectares within the exclusion zone in the vicinity of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and that was established after the disaster of 1986 due to its high levels of radioactivity. The origin of these fires is not yet known, although it is thought that they are due to the burning of stubble carried out by farmers in the area and that it would have gotten out of control.
Protect the nuclear power plant
The main objective of the extinguishing teams working in the area is to protect the nuclear power plant through fire breaks. Another of the main concerns is the level of radioactivity, as it is feared that the flames will remove radioactive ash in the exclusion zone and that radioactive particles will spread through smoke , contaminating the air of large Ukrainian population centers. On the other hand, the country’s State Emergency Service has ensured that the level of radiation continues to be admissible.
This is what the fire looks like from space
Pictured is a snapshot captured by the European Space Agency’s Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite on April 12, 2020. The satellite mission is being used as part of the activation of the Copernicus Emergency Management Service to supply maps. of the burned area and thus help the authorities to respond to the consequences of this recent fire.
Fortunately, the heavy rains on April 15 have extinguished most of the flames. However, the Ukrainian authorities also reported that same day that there were still more than 500 firefighters, 124 trucks and several helicopters working to contain the embers.
