The risk of fire has been raised to the fourth level in the area near Dai Mountain in An Giang province’s Tinh Bien district.(Photo: VNA)HCMCity (VNS/VNA) - Authorities in the Mekong Delta are setting upfirebreaks, preparing equipment and putting up warning boards as the area’sforests face a high risk of fire in the dry season.
An Giang province’s authorities haveraised the fire risk to the fourth level, out of a total of five, as the riskof large forest fires increases, especially in cajuput forests in mountainousdistricts.
The province has preparedfirefighting facilities, including trucks to transport firefighters, fireextinguishers, pumps, and water containers on the top of mountains.
Truong Minh Hung, deputy head of AnGiang province’s Forest Protection Sub-department, said that forest owners hadprepared well for fire prevention.
The sub-department has set up sevenfirebreaks with a combined total area of 27ha in Cam and Phu Cuong mountainsand Tra Su cajeput forest. It plans to carry out prescribed fires on a total of23ha to create firebreaks by the end of this month.
The dry, hot weather could lead toforest fires in the mountainous areas of Thoai Son, Tri Ton and Tinh Biendistricts and Chau Doc city.
The province has 16,868ha offorested land, according to its Department of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment.
Nguyen Sy Lam, director of thedepartment, said that organisations and locals were allowed to protect and useforested land.
The province’s forests play acrucial role in protecting the environment, and promoting socio-economic andtourism development, he said.
According to the National Centre forHydro -Meteorology Forecast, the southern region may face a shortage of waterbetween February and May because of a decline in rainfall.
Other provinces like Tien Giang,Long An, Kien Giang and Ca Mau have also taken steps to prevent forest fires.
In Ca Mau, the Forest ProtectionSub-department has made preparations during the dry season which normally lastsbetween November and May.
The province has set up plans to useavailable staff and facilities to fight forest fires, including 101 pumps,water pipes with a total length of 62,335 metres, and 12 fire trucks.
It has installed 25 warning boardsat crossroads and near forests, and set up 64 permanent fire watching towersand 23 temporary towers in forests to monitor forest fires.
Besides natural occurrences such aslightning, human activities like burning fields, harvesting honey and huntingwild animals are the major causes behind forests fires in Ca Mau.
Ca Mau’s Forest ProtectionSub-department has also increased the number of patrols so that fires can beextinguished quickly before they spread.
The province’s forest managementboards have encouraged local households living near forests to take steps toprevent fires in the dry season and clear flammable materials around theirhouses.
Ca Mau has more than 53,000ha offorests in the U Minh Ha National Park and islands, which have a high risk offorest fires in the dry season.-VNS/VNA
VNA
