Drone Causes Major Forest Fire in Saint Petersburg
A major forest fire in Saint Petersburg, caused by a drone, occurred during the 2026 fire season, marking the first significant fire in the city's urban natural areas in recent years, according to officials.
Consensus
- A major forest fire in Saint Petersburg in 2026 was caused by a drone.
- The fire occurred during the 2026 fire danger season, which began in mid-April.
- There were three forest fires in Saint Petersburg's forests since the start of the fire season.
- Two of the fires were caused by careless handling of fire and covered a total area of 0.02 hectares.
- The drone-caused fire spread over 2.19 hectares.
- The city has 23,000 hectares of forest, including 8,000 hectares of specially protected natural territories.
- Daily ground patrols are conducted on 45 approved routes totaling 597 km to detect fires early.
- Raid operations are carried out in forests on weekends and holidays by the Committee for Urban Development, district administrations, and the Ministry of Emergency Situations to reduce fire risks.
Points of divergence
- The drone fire occurred in June, based on a statement by Petrichenko on June 15, which claimed that in recent years no fires had occurred in urban natural areas. — tg_paperpaper_ru
- Drones attacked Saint Petersburg multiple times after April 2026, including attacks on Kronstadt in March, near SPbSU in Peterhof and Kronstadt in early June, and on warehouses near the border of Saint Petersburg and Novosaratovka in Leningrad Oblast on July 24. — tg_paperpaper_ru
- No forest fires were recorded in Saint Petersburg's urban forests during 2024–2025. — fontanka
Coverage (2 sources)
- Due to UAV, the only major forest fire of the season in St. Petersburg has begun, Smolny officials say — Бумага
- In Smolny, fires in St. Petersburg forests due to drones were explained — Фонтанка