---
title: "Fire whirl and 130 hectares: how rescuers are fighting fires in Chernobyl after drone attacks"
description: "A fire covering 130 hectares has been extinguished in the Chernobyl zone, but the fight against the fire continues at three other sites. Rescuers are working in conditions of heat and water shortage, using heavy machinery to create mineralized strips. The fires began after a drone attack on June 25 and were exacerbated by the appearance of a fire whirl. 🔥🚜🚨"
date: 2026-07-04T11:44:00.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/fire-whirl-and-130-hectares-how-rescuers-are-fighting-fires-in-chernobyl-after-drone-attacks
tags: []
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# Fire whirl and 130 hectares: how rescuers are fighting fires in Chernobyl after drone attacks

![Bulldozer creating a firebreak in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone forest against a backdrop of thick smoke from a wildfire.](https://xab.info/media/2026/07/04/pogashenie-pozhara-v-chernobyle-130-gektarov-i-ogrenny-smerch/pogashenie-pozhara-v-chernobyle-130-gektarov-i-ogrenny-smerch-1.webp)

A large-scale operation to extinguish forest fires continues in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. On the morning of July 4, rescuers managed to eliminate one of the fire sources, which covered an area of 130 hectares. Despite this success, the work is not yet finished: specialists continue to fight the fire at three other locations.

### Situation under control, but the threat remains

According to the State Emergency Service (SES), the situation in the Exclusion Zone remains under control. On one of the three active sites, the fire has already been localized. Experts assure that the radiation background in the work area is within normal limits, ruling out the threat of radiation contamination to the environment.

However, conditions for rescuers remain extreme. Firefighting is complicated by high air temperatures, which do not drop throughout the day. In addition to units from the Kyiv region, forces from other regions of Ukraine have been involved in the work, highlighting the scale of the operation.

### Technical difficulties and lack of water

One of the main problems faced by firefighters is the lack of water sources in the immediate vicinity of the fire sources. This forces rescuers to transport water over significant distances, which significantly slows down the extinguishing process and requires huge logistical efforts.

Heavy engineering equipment is used to overcome impassable terrain and access remote forest areas. As shown in photos from the scene, bulldozers and other special equipment perform a critically important function: they pave roads directly to the fire and create mineralized strips. These strips serve as barriers that should contain the spread of flames to new forest areas.

### Chronology of events: from drone attack to fire whirl

The cause of the large-scale fires was an attack by unmanned aerial vehicles on June 25. Since then, rescuers have been fighting the fire continuously. By June 29, one of the fire centers had already been completely eliminated, but work on localization continued at other sites.

The situation became particularly dangerous on July 3. Due to strong winds and intense burning, a fire whirl formed in the Exclusion Zone. This atmospheric phenomenon is a vortex of burning air capable of knocking down trees and spreading fire over huge distances. It is under such conditions that rescuers have to work daily to prevent the fire from spreading beyond the controlled areas.