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# Fire in Mongolia's Numrug reserve began after a trip by Mobicom employees
- URL: https://theparnassian.com/en/iz-za-poezdki-sotrudnikov-mobilnogo-operatora-na-prirodu-vspykhnul-katastroficheskii-pozhar-v-zapovednike-numreg-na-krainem-vostoke-mongolii/
- Published: 2026-10-31T17:14:47.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-31T17:30:17.000Z
- Author: Alexandr Radayev
- Tags: The East, Geography, Society, Nature

A catastrophic fire broke out in the Nömrög Strictly Protected Area in the far east of Mongolia because of a nature outing by employees of a mobile operator. The Khalkhin Gol river flows through this reserve, where in 1939 Soviet-Mongolian forces fought the Japanese army.

The incident took place as long ago as 8 October.

Local media reported that a convoy of five vehicles carrying 13 employees of the mobile operator Mobicom, management included, had driven into the closed core zone of the reserve, and that dry grass had lodged under the underside of one of the cars and then caught fire; a strong wind quickly spread the flames across the steppe.

Mobicom stated that the team had received permission from the border service to test its 4G network. Local media, however, wrote that the participants in the trip had intended to fish for taimen, a fish listed in Mongolia's Red Book.

At first the company tried to evade responsibility and claimed that it had observed all legal procedures, but later it apologised and promised to cooperate with the investigation once public pressure had mounted. Mobicom's Chief Executive Yasuhiro Ohti, who was himself on the trip, offered his apologies on 15 October. On 20 October the company's Japanese owners officially acknowledged the link between the fire and Mobicom's activities.

Mongolia's Ministry of Environment and Climate Change reported that the fire had destroyed 528.765 hectares. Of these, 468.965 hectares lie inside the reserve, which means that the fire affected 79% of its area. Firefighters extinguished the blaze completely on 16 October. Mongolia deployed 606 rescuers and one hundred units of equipment from 60 fire brigades in three provinces. The fire reached the Mongolian-Chinese border, and China, in accordance with the 1999 agreement on preventing forest and steppe fires in border areas, mobilised more than 3,400 firefighters and rescuers in Inner Mongolia.

Mongolia's Prime Minister Nyam-Osoryn Uchral called the fire a serious matter and instructed the Minister of Justice and Home Affairs, Ganzorigiin Temuulen, to bring to account the officials who had failed to carry out their duties. Some Mongolian commentators considered that the blanket condemnation of the Japanese side looked one-sided, and called on journalists to investigate the actions of the officials who had issued Mobicom its permit to enter Nömrög. On 26 October Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara expressed sympathy to the Mongolian people and promised to help restore the affected areas. Minister of Environment Tsend Sandag-Ochir reported that the authorities would prepare between 25,000 and 30,000 bales of hay for the wild animals that have gathered on the surviving part of the reserve.