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Via CNN.com:

As over 850 out-of-control forest fires rage on just outside of Moscow, Moscovites can only pray that the first day back to work for a lucky few in the morning will mean Air Conditioning in a large office. Others will have to deal with the consequences of smoke that has been reported to be at a level that is equal to smoking one pack of cigarettes per hour. Visibility on the ground is officially close to zero.

There are no indications that the 100 plus degree weather along with the raging fires will end anytime soon.

Accurate figures seem hard to come by in a country with very limted free press. The official figure of 52 dead as of today seems low to me since entire communities have been burned to the ground in minutes.

Many elderly people live quiet, almost anonymous lives, marginalized in the “New Russia”. Their fragile health in a region of over 10,000,000 suggest there is much more tragedy to come.

This iReporter will continue on the ground with anonymous, in-the-face reporting of this disaster as it unfolds.