Hi All,   Here is a brief follow-up on the situation on the wild fires that raged in the along the Volga river last month coming dangerously close to some of the old Volga German villages.   You might remember that the fires that raged in Central Russia throughout summer reached Volgograd Region in early September. There was a lot of forrest and a few settlements destroyed by them. For instance, half of a (Russian) village of Alexandrovka situated just across the river from Frank, one of the oldest Volga German villages on the Hilly Side, was partially destroyed in early September. Re-building has began and people were promised by the authorities to have new houses ready to move in later this year. Follow the link to see pictures of Alexandrovka taken by Vladimir Krainev of Zhirnovsk (the county town nearby) just a few days after the devastating fire: http://photofile.ru/users/vovodya/115832117/   Here is another link to photos of the Russian village of Lapshinka (is to the South of Frank) that got destroyed almost entirely: http://photofile.ru/users/vovodya/115831612/   As for Frank, the village got spared thanks to the strong will of local people to fight against the fire. According to local resident Emilia Kloberdanz, the entire population was out on the streets ready to fight off the flames going across the fields. The entire county had been put into the state of emergency but the authorities were reportedly unprepared when the fires reached the area and made a lot of damage due to unusually strong winds.   The fires came close to the city of Volgograd, too. For a few days it was so bad that due to strong winds, the Motherland Monument in Volgograd could not be seen. Everyone who has ever been to Volgograd and visited this monument can now probably get a rough picture of what was going on.   Last but not least, I have heard from people living in Siberia, that the fires spread out there, too. The Altay region of Siberia that used to be one of the areas with high ethnic German population was affected particularly hard.   Thanks to Lois Klaus of Portland, OR who reminded me to post a follow-up on the wild fire situation in Russia.   Regards, Tanja Schell Fargo, ND