20140214 Malaysia 380 Hectares Of Forest On Fire In Dungun
Malaysia Feb 14 2014 “Forest”
Dead : dead 0 or unknown Burnout : more than 70 Injured : injured 0 or unknown
380 Hectares Of Forest On Fire In Dungun
Updated: 2014-02-15-12:00
DUNGUN, Feb 14 (Bernama) — The peat forest fire in Kampung Tok Kah continues to spread, now affecting about 380 hectares over a period of 20 days.
Dungun Fire and Rescue station chief Nor Azizi Che Noh said firefighters were still controlling the fire, despite the various constraints following the hot weather and strong winds which worsened the situation.
“About 380 hectares of the forest have been affected and we have so far put out the fire in an area covering 342 hectares,” he told Bernama here today.
The forest fire started on Jan 26, affecting 16 hectares.
He said the situation was made because of the peat soil which was porous and caught fire easily, as well as with the absence of access road and water source which hampered the fire fighting operation.
The fire fighting operation involved firemen from Kemaman, Dungun, Kuala Berang, Kuala Terengganu and Marang, as well as members from the Civil Defence Department.
He advised the public to refrain from carrying open burning as sparks from it could cause the flame to spread out of control.
— BERNAMA
Websource:bernama
http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v7/newsindex.php?id=1014615