Duy Xuyen: Nearly 100 people worked through the night to control a forest fire of more than 10 hectares

DNO - On the morning of July 20, it was estimated that more than 10 hectares of production forest were burned down in a large fire that broke out in Duy Xuyen, Da Nang City. Nearly 100 officers, soldiers, militiamen and local people worked all night to put out the fire, preventing it from spreading in the steep forest terrain, dry weather and strong winds.

The fire encountered dry weather at night, so it spread quickly. Photo: Local source

According to Mr. Dang Huu Phuc, Chairman of Duy Xuyen Commune People's Committee, the small fire started at around 7:30 am on July 19. Local forces promptly deployed firefighting work and by the afternoon of the same day, the fire was basically under control. However, by the early morning of July 20, due to dry weather combined with strong winds, the fire smoldered and flared up again with greater intensity, spreading to many difficult-to-reach areas.

As early as 5:00 a.m. on July 20, the commune government mobilized all forces including local soldiers, militia, police and security forces, commune officials and local people, a total of nearly 100 people, to approach the scene to contain and control the fire that was spreading rapidly with the wind.

Authorities and local residents approach the scene of the fire at night. Photo: Local provided

At around 5:30 a.m. the same day, Vice Chairman of the City People's Committee Tran Nam Hung was present at the scene to inspect the situation, direct professional measures and encourage local forces to closely coordinate in the handling process.

Firefighting is mainly carried out manually, combining clearing vegetation, creating firebreaks and extinguishing fires with support tools, because the burned area is mainly a production forest with steep slopes, difficult access, and cannot deploy specialized machinery.

Vice Chairman of Da Nang City People's Committee Tran Nam Hung (3rd from left) was present at the scene to direct. Photo: Provided by local authorities

Regarding the initial cause, Mr. Phuc said it was likely that people were careless in clearing and burning vegetation for farming and could not control the fire, causing it to spread to the surrounding production forest area. Local authorities are coordinating with relevant agencies to verify the specific cause as well as to delimit the actual damage.

On the morning of July 20, thanks to the changing weather with light rain and the tireless efforts of the authorities, the fire was basically controlled, with no risk of spreading to neighboring areas.

Burning vegetation in production forests during the dry season can easily cause large-scale forest fires. Photo: Locally provided

"The Duy Xuyen commune government continues to maintain forces on duty to monitor the situation, ready to respond if the fire breaks out again, and at the same time strengthen propaganda for people to absolutely not burn vegetation during the peak of hot weather, in order to minimize the risk of forest fires recurring in the dry season this year," Mr. Phuc added.

Source: https://baodanang.vn/duy-xuyen-gan-100-nguoi-xuyen-dem-khong-che-vu-chay-rung-hon-10ha-3297328.html