Raging fires have consumed swaths of Russia's Urals mountains, killing at least seven people, razing hundreds of homes, forcing evacuations and spurring investigations, officials said on Monday.
Wildfires are common in late spring and summer across Russia's vast forests and grassy steppes, but some recent blazes have fanned suspicions of "negligence".
The fires spread to some settlements in the southern region of Kurgan near the border with Kazakhstan, prompting a visit by Emergencies Minister Alexander Kurenkov early on Monday.
