Story By: Gheorghi Caraseni, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Newsflash
Newsflash/Kapralov Stas
These startling images taken from a drone above the Chernobyl exclusion zone show the charred post-apocalyptic forests left from the recent fire which devastated area.
The footage was taken by local resident Stanislav Kapralov and his friends after the areas around the former nuclear reactor at Chernobyl in northern Ukraine’s Kiev Oblast were devastated by wildfires.
In the haunting footage, the charred forests can be seen with smoke still rising from some areas.
Newsflash/Kapralov Stas 
Newsflash/Kapralov Stas 
Newsflash/Kapralov Stas
The blackened trunks of trees can be seen with a dirt road running between them. The level of devastation can be seen with some areas of torched earth spreading as far as the camera can show.
A fire engine can then be seen making its way through the deserted roads and Kapralov says he wanted to fully convey the atmosphere from around the burnt-out area
He said that during the last 30 years the local flora and fauna had successfully revived after the accident in 1986 but has now been destroyed again by the bushfires.
Local police say residents had seemingly started the fire by burning rubbish around their houses and then taking the smouldering residue to a landfill the sight.
The residue then reportedly caused dry to catch on fire and the wildfire spread quickly. However, they reportedly tried to put the fire out themselves before calling the fire service, making the firefighters’ job more difficult along with strong winds.
Those responsible have reportedly been fined.
The smoke from the bushfires reached the Ukrainian capital Kiev some 60 miles away and the local authorities warned residents not to leave their homes unless strictly necessary because of the risks the smoke posed for their health.
The authorities announced today (Wednesday) that only a few small fires remained and they were under control as they work to stop the fire reaching Belarus.
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