120914 Wildfires destroy half of national park in West Manggarai
Bangladesh Sep 14 2012 “Forest”
Dead : dead 0 or unknown Burnout : 0 or unknown Injured : injured 0 or unknown
Web Source: The Jakarta Post
Date: 15 September, 2012
Country: Bangladesh
Wildfires destroy half of national park in West Manggarai
Updated: 2012-09-15-13:43
Officials say that they are unable to contain the wildfires that have been raging inside Wae Wuul National Park in West Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) for several days.
The blaze has destroyed about half of the 1,484-hectare park, Ora Yohanes, head of the Ruteng branch of the Natural Conservation Center, said on Friday.
No people or animals have been killed in the fire, which broke out on Tuesday morning, Yohanes said.
“Dry bushes and leaves in the area are prone to frequent fires during the dry season,” he added.
Yohanes, however, said that he also suspected that the fire was started by local residents setting fires to clear land for agriculture.
“We have a very limited number of officers to put out the blaze, while residents in the area do not seem to care much about natural conservation,” Yohanes added.