and as nbc's jim maceda now reports, the kremlin is not only trying to battle the fires, but also the perception that it's not doing enough to put them out. >> reporter: it was a photo op he couldn't resist. russian prime minister vladimir putin being criticized for being too slow to respond to the disaster below, was seen on national tv today co-piloting a firefighting plane, scooping up and dumping 24 tons of water on his target. did we hit it, he asks? yes, a precise hit, the reply. but despite putin's and thousands of firefighters' efforts, the wildfires rage on. already causing some $15 billion in damage, according to one russian daily. and only now after weeks of devastation is the human toll beginning to emerge. in moscow alone, shrouded in smog and smoke, deaths, according to a top health official here, have doubled compared to last year, up to about 700 a day. moscow's morgues are reportedly filled with bodies, and ambulances are making thousands more trips to the hospital. strokes and asthma attacks are up by 50%. heart attacks have increased by 30%, said this doctor. the go

again, tonight, nbc's jim maceda reports from the front lines of the russian wildfires burning out of control. tonight he is in kremlin square. >> reporter: today, moscow was a city under siege. its most iconic landmarks, red square, the kremlin, all consumed by a thick, soupy cloud of smog and smoke. part of an 1,800 mile long swab of choking pollution from hundreds of wildfires many raging out of control. >> translator: it reminds me of the fall of pompeii, it's just awful, said this woman. leaving a capital city of 11 million who had seen hard times before, in shock. >> translator: the country is in ruins. now it is also burning, he said. even the russian president was stunned telling these ambulance workers when he woke up today and looked around what he saw was monstrous. indeed, the massive smog cloud couldn't be stopped, creeping into buildings, even the subway. health officials warned people to stay indoors and with carbon monoxide levels five times above average to venture outside with protective masks. >> translator: we wear masks, put wet clothes on windows nothing special,

nbc's jim maceda is in ryazan, on the front lines of the fires tonight. >> reporter: hundreds of wildfires now rage across seven of russia's regions, many out of control. 50 people have died and more than 2,000 families have fled their burning homes, all triggered by a wave of temperatures over 100 degrees, unheard of in russia. fires have partially destroyed a strategic naval base and even threatened a secret nuclear facility. now the kremlin is responding to criticism it was slow to act. russian president in the dmitry medvedev cut his vacation short and fired his top military advisers, calling them criminally negligent. and with few trained forest service workers or volunteers to turn to, he's had to call up battalions of russian soldiers to help his poorly equipped firefighters. "we are trying to cut off this fire so it doesn't spread to the next forest," she says. but even as officials claim they have saved hundreds of villages, the number of fires keeps going up, and here's the problem. temperatures have been so hot for so long that these forests are like tinder. they can put out one

>> jim maceda outside moscow. we're back with more news in a moment on this sunday evening, including the latest on the manhunt for two escaped convicts now linked to a double murder. >>> and after losing so much, a family's message in a bottle hits home. and wait until you hear who found it. randy: sorry man, you all right? man: yeah, im good. yeah you just winged me. randy: think anybodys going to notice that? man: yeah, probably. maybe we should just go sledding... vo: geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. it was a mystery to me. i found out that connected to our muscles are nerves that send messages through the body. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia, thought to be the result of overactive nerves that cause chronic, widespread pain. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. i learned lyrica can provide significant relief from fibromyalgia pain. and with less pain, i can do more of what matters to me. [ female announcer ] lyrica is not for everyone. lyrica may cause serious allergic