Keep U Minh Thuong National Park safe.

This year's dry season has been particularly severe, making forest fire prevention and control a top priority and urgent task for U Minh Thuong National Park. Firefighting forces are working tirelessly in the forest, tightening control in high-risk areas to protect the green canopy.

Early in the morning, members of the U Minh Thuong National Park Forest Firefighting Team carry their equipment and follow the small path leading into the forest. Along the forest entrances, warning signs indicating fire risk levels are erected, reminding people to absolutely not use fire in and around the forest. Tran Van Chuong, a member of the U Minh Thuong National Park Forest Firefighting Team, shared: “Every day we take turns patrolling, observing every bush and canal bank, proactively detecting and promptly addressing potential forest fire risks.”

Forest firefighting forces inspect the water pumps. Photo: THUY TIEN

According to the leaders of U Minh Thuong National Park, given the prolonged hot weather and the unique characteristics of the melaleuca forest on peat soil, which is highly flammable, the unit has issued numerous documents to strengthen forest management, protection, and fire prevention and control. Emphasis is placed on leveraging the role of local forces, adapting to the local situation, and ensuring readiness to respond to any incidents. Teams and groups are assigned clear tasks and regularly patrol and monitor key areas, especially those near people's agricultural land and areas with a high risk of fire. In addition, fire watchtowers are staffed 24/7 to ensure continuous observation and timely detection and handling of any incidents.

The unit also deployed the SMART Mobile software for forest protection patrol activities. Deputy Director of U Minh Thuong National Park, Tran Van Thang, said: “During the 2026 dry season, approximately 4,565 hectares of the park were at risk of fire at levels III and IV. The unit implemented many solutions, ensuring the “four on-site” principle and proactively deploying vehicles and equipment to respond when fires occur. At the same time, we directed the dredging and reinforcement of 5 water storage pits, each with a radius of 500 m, to store 150 ^m³ of water in high-risk fire areas; cleared floating vegetation along 65 km of main canals and cleared undergrowth and weeds along nearly 60 km of forest protection patrol roads.”

In key areas of the park, the forest fire fighting force maintains constant readiness, coordinating with other units to patrol and control access. Simultaneously, they proactively clear undergrowth, inspect firebreaks, prepare water sources, blowers, and other on-site firefighting equipment, ready to handle any emerging situations. “Every day, in addition to observing from the watchtowers and patrolling by boat, we also check water pumps, clear weeds and undergrowth, and especially guard against strangers to minimize forest fires. During peak hot weather, we spend more time at the unit than at home,” said Tran Cong Hao, a member of the Forest Fire Fighting Team of U Minh Thuong National Park.

A small cigarette butt or a carelessly lit spark can ignite an unimaginable disaster for the forest ecosystem. Therefore, in addition to the efforts of the authorities, the awareness of people living near forests is a key factor in limiting the risk of forest fires during the dry season.

Even on sunny days, the forests of U Minh Thuong National Park are kept peaceful by the patrols of the forest fire prevention and control force. Proactive measures taken early on remain a crucial solution to protect the greenery of U Minh Thuong National Park.

U Minh Thuong National Park has 5 forest fire prevention and fighting teams, each with 12-15 people, maintaining a standby force at 4 forest protection teams and 6 teams surrounding the core area, and has built 16 forest fire watchtowers. These forces regularly patrol and monitor to promptly detect and handle violations related to forest management, protection, and fire prevention and fighting.

THUY THAN

Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/giu-an-toan-vuon-quoc-gia-u-minh-thuong-a485940.html