Wildfires in Russia’s southern Volgograd and Saratov regions threatened more than 15,000 houses, of which 400 have already been destroyed, a Russian Emergencies Ministry official said on Friday, ITAR-TASS reports.

“Unfavorable weather conditions – high air temperatures and strong winds – caused wildfires in six districts of the Volgograd and Saratov regions. The fires threatened more than 15,000 houses,” Pavel Popov, a deputy emergencies minister, told journalists.

According to Popov, more than 3,000 people and 300 items of firefighting equipment, including aircraft, were involved in firefighting operations. Fires have been contained in the bulk of districts.

“However, 400 houses have been destroyed by fires leaving more than 1,000 people homeless,” he said and added that these people were provided with temporary shelter. Meanwhile, according to the southern regional emergencies centre, five persons were killed and 14 injured in wildfires in the Volgograd region.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin allocated on Friday 1 billion rubles ($33 million) to the wildfire-stricken Volgograd and Saratov regions, a cabinet statement said, RIA Novosti reports.

The Volgograd Region will receive a total of 900 million rubles, while Saratov will receive the remaining 100 million rubles.