Battling the "fire enemy"

(Baothanhhoa.vn) - Thanh Hoa province has a large area of ​​natural and planted forests, and the risk of forest fires is always present, especially in harsh weather conditions. From the beginning of the hot season, local authorities and forest rangers have intensified their efforts to raise public awareness about the risk of forest fires and preventive measures. The province is gradually building a strong "shield" to effectively protect its valuable forests during this challenging hot season. The determination to preserve the greenness of these forests is not only the responsibility of the forest rangers or local authorities, but also the shared responsibility of the entire community.

The Command of Defense Zone 5 - Tinh Gia dealt with a wildfire under the forest canopy in Tan Dan ward.

To create safe zones for the forests, the Provincial Forest Protection Department has directed its subordinate units to strengthen patrols and inspections in key forest areas during peak hot weather periods. Early detection of violations of forest protection regulations, such as improper slash-and-burn farming and careless use of fire in the forest, is given special attention. In addition, the construction and repair of firebreaks are being urgently implemented, contributing to preventing the spread of fires should they occur. Beyond relying on local forces, the involvement of the military, police, and border guards has added a combined strength in preventing and responding to complex forest fire situations.

Due to the prolonged hot weather, at approximately 11:00 AM on July 9, 2025, a fire broke out in the forest undergrowth in the protected forest area of ​​Tan Dan ward, posing a risk of spreading if not promptly addressed. Immediately upon receiving the notification, the leadership and command of the Area 5 Defense Command - Tinh Gia quickly reported the incident and sought guidance from the head of the Provincial Military Command. They deployed a force of 50 officers, personnel, and permanent militia soldiers along with firefighting equipment and tools, coordinating with forest rangers, police, self-defense militia, and other local authorities to quickly approach the scene and implement measures to contain and extinguish the fire. However, the scorching weather (above 39°C), steep hilly terrain, and strong winds made access and response extremely difficult. The forces divided into several teams, coordinating closely and determined to control the fire and prevent it from spreading into the natural forest and residential areas. After about two hours of effort, the fire was basically extinguished, minimizing damage to the forest area.

According to statistics, the total forest area of ​​the province is currently 647,737.35 hectares. Of this, 393,361.33 hectares are natural forests and 254,376.02 hectares are planted forests. The area of ​​forest meeting the criteria for calculating forest cover in the province is 595,935.29 hectares, corresponding to a forest cover rate of 53.6%. With the motto "prevention is key, firefighting must be timely and effective," forces are making concerted efforts to implement comprehensive forest fire prevention and control measures, strictly controlling the causes of forest fires; and preparing forest fire fighting plans based on the "four on-the-spot" principle from the provincial level down to wards, communes, and villages. To effectively manage and protect forests, the Department of Agriculture and Environment has intensified propaganda and mobilization efforts to encourage people in villages to participate in community groups for forest management and protection. Currently, the province has 1,960 community-based forest protection and fire prevention and control teams in villages and hamlets.

In remote areas where ethnic minorities live near forests, awareness campaigns are conducted in both the common language and ethnic languages, helping people better understand their responsibilities in protecting forest resources. In Xuan Lien National Park, the population around the area is mainly ethnic minorities whose primary occupation is agriculture and forestry, making forest protection sometimes challenging. Over the past five years, the Xuan Lien National Park Management Board has established 12 community forest protection teams with the participation of over 1,300 people. These teams have coordinated with forest rangers to conduct nearly 5,200 patrols and inspections in 31 sub-areas. This has helped authorities detect, apprehend, and record administrative violations in 76 cases, a decrease of 152 cases compared to the previous period, thus ensuring forest security.

Mr. Trinh Dang Tinh, Deputy Head of the Forest Protection and Violation Handling Department of the Provincial Forest Protection Sub-Department, said: The entire province currently has 48,050 hectares of forest at high risk of fire. To proactively prevent and fight forest fires, since the beginning of the year, the sub-department has advised all levels to review and prepare means and forces to participate in rescue operations, and to develop plans, especially operational plans when forest fires occur. When there is a forest fire risk forecast of level 4 or 5, the forest protection force will be on duty 24/7, especially in key areas, to control people entering and leaving the forest, detect forest fires early, and promptly mobilize people to participate in firefighting. Forest protection officers strictly implement forest fire watch duties, provide information on forest fire forecasts and early detection of forest fires, regularly organize patrols and inspections of the forest, and monitor forest fire warning information to detect forest fires early and mobilize firefighting forces in a timely manner to prevent large-scale fires. At the same time, regularly inspect, monitor, and guide the people in cultivating fields in accordance with regulations, ensuring that fires do not spread into the forest. Encourage people not to use fire when entering the forest, burning beehives, burning vegetation, or burning garbage in areas near forests during hot weather and when the risk of forest fires is level 3 or higher.

Text and photos: Hoang Lan

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/tac-chien-voi-giac-lua-257842.htm