On Tuesday, officials in Buryatia, a republic in Siberia, announced a region-wide state of emergency as firefighters continued to fight against fast-spreading wildfires linked to human actions.

Buryatia, which shares a border with Mongolia, is the second most affected area in Russia this wildfire season, with approximately 53,000 hectares (around 131,000 acres) currently engulfed in flames. The Zabaikalsky region, its neighbor, has experienced even more devastation, accounting for nearly 90% of all wildfires across the country.

Since last month, the Zabaikalsky region has been under a federal state of emergency.

In response to the crisis, Buryatia’s local office of the Federal Forestry Agency has prohibited public entry into the area’s forests during the emergency, stating that “over 90%” of the 174 fires reported since the spring were due to human negligence.

Authorities have also banned practices such as burning grass, disposing of trash by burning, and cooking over open flames, cautioning that strong winds predicted for this week could exacerbate the wildfire situation.

The government of Buryatia indicated that the declaration of a state of emergency would facilitate the mobilization of more personnel and equipment for firefighting efforts.

Experts have suggested that the majority of this year’s wildfires in Russia can be traced back to human activity, including the burning of dry grass near settlements. Additional factors, such as insufficient snow cover and an early arrival of spring, have also contributed to the problem.