Forest fires

Were blogger to allow me to post photos of the wonderful scenery around Lake Baikal, you would be as underwhelmed as I am. Not because it isn't marvellous, I have seen travel photos before - it's spectacular. But right now, with air quality in the red "Danger, danger Will Rodger's" zone and a thick smoke haze over everything, it's a little hard to see the attraction, or indeed see (or breathe!).
There is considerable irony in me travelling thousands of kilometres from Australia to find myself on the edges of one of the planet's largest forest fires. Apparently a chunk of Siberia the size of Belgium is burning and while Mr Putin has sent the army in, no one appears to be doing much. No monsoon buckets sweeping over Lake Baikal. Though that could be a good thing, a couple of accidental Baikal seals in the mix could make that forest fire a lot worse.
Let me explain. Baikal is home to a huge number of species found nowhere else. This includes a small fish apparently 80% fat. I have eaten said fish, and can attest it was melt in the mouth fish fatty goodness. The tour guide could not believe I ate not one (she suggests people at least try it) but six!
Another weird species is the Baikal seal. The world's only fresh water seal they were apparently cut off in the lake from their migration back to the sea and have adapted. To eating the 80% fat fish it would seem. Because these are not sleek, elegant seals. No, they look like someone has inserted a bicycle pump and turned them into little seal blimps. Incredibly cute, but so over inflated I was afraid the two I saw in the aquarium might pop!
So I can see why the monsoon buckets aren't in operation, one or two seals on a forest fire and the thing would have enough fat fuel to burn indefinitely!