'The scenes have almost felt like they're out of Hollywood imagination - brilliant red sunrises and sunsets the last couple of days around Western Washington,' reported KomoNews

The wind whipped blazes killed 30 people in Siberia after farmers burned dried grass but the fires got out of control. The damage was especially acute in Khakassia republic where 1,328 homes were destroyed or badly damaged, leaving 4.694 people without shelter, but the area around the city of Chita was also badly hit.

As well as killing 30, two people were reported missing.

Sunsets in Washington state were reported to be orange tinted or pink or red in colour. Experts say the cause is the Siberian fires, a repeat of stunning sunsets seen in 2012. 'The scenes have almost felt like they're out of Hollywood imagination - brilliant red sunrises and sunsets the last couple of days around Western Washington,' reported KomoNews.

'Why so red? It's a byproduct of the massive wildfires that recently burned a large area in Siberia. 'The atmospheric winds are aligned this week to carry the smoke across the Pacific Ocean and into the Pacific Northwest'.



US National Weather Service claims smoke haze from deadly inferno has crossed the Pacific. Pictures: KomoNews

In Russia, the fires were blamed on human factors with President Vladimir Putin's envoy to Siberia even claiming the could have been a political motive.

Nikolai Rogozhkin said in Chita: 'Let's sketch out the following situation: some group of people - or the opposition, as they are now called - got together. They underwent instruction and carried out acts of sabotage by setting fires in various spots.'

He inspected the damage from a helicopter and saw fires in 'places where a normal person cannot go, even one who is well-prepared.

'A specially trained person would be needed for this, and it would take at least 24 hours, he said.

The Kremlin appeared to case doubt on this claim.

Its information was that 'the fire was caused by grass burning and this is a very dangerous and destructive practice that, as the events have shown, may lead to catastrophic consequences,' said spokesman Dmitry Peskov. 'The weather conditions got together in a catastrophic way - strong winds, dryness and low temperature... At the same time, the ice on the rivers has not melted'.



'The winds are aligned this week to carry the smoke across the Pacific Ocean and into the Pacific Northwest'. Picture: KomoNews

The Russian Defence Ministry sent 28 Kamaz trucks to help eliminate the consequences of fires in Khakassia, it was reported on Sunday.

Vladimir Putin demanded that destroyed houses should be restored by 1 Setpember.

'A convoy of vehicles loaded with ferroconcrete units and other construction materials completed its 800 km march from the Kemerovo Region to Abakan,' said one official.

Three aircraft also delivered 96 tons of humanitarian aid.

'Overall, more than 100 army tents, 100 furnaces for warming, 20,000 meals ready to eat, sleeping bags, field baths, mobile power plants and other necessary stuff were delivered for residents of the republic's affected regions', said a statement.

This year's outbreaks had swept across more than 205,000 hectares of forest.

A 16-year-old teenager was detained on suspicion of starting a fire near a village some 120 kilometres southwest of Chita, it was reported.