People search for belongings from their burned-out homes in the town of Voronezh, some 500 kilometres south of Moscow, on Saturday. (Mikhail Metzel/Associated Press) Russian authorities have mobilized almost 240,000 people to battle deadly wildfires that have been burning across the country, killing at least 30 people in the last few days.

Army units, including elite paratroops, joined the firefighting effort Saturday.

Tens of thousands of hectares of parched forests and peat bog are either on fire or at risk of burning.

More than 700 wildfires have destroyed or damaged homes in nearly 80 towns or villages. Dozens of other communities are threatened by the fires, which have forced thousands of people to evacuate areas in the path of encroaching flames.

Russians are coping with the hottest summer temperatures since records were first kept 130 years ago.

The record heat wave and severe drought have dried up fields, ruining about a fifth of this year's wheat harvest.

Meteorologists say temperatures have been eight degrees higher than normal this summer.

In the southern Voronezh region, one of the worst hit, officials said Sunday that the fires are under control and no longer threaten any population centres.

But Emergencies Ministry spokeswoman Yelena Chernova said new fires are breaking out elsewhere, particularly in the Mordovia region and around the industrial city of Togliatti.

With files from The Associated Press