20160513 Thailand Another fire rages through Phattalung national park
Thailand May 12 2016 “Forest”
Dead : dead 0 or unknown Burnout : 0 or unknown Injured : injured 0 or unknown
Another fire rages through Phattalung national park
Updated: 2016-05-13-01:00
A FIRE broke out in the Khao Pu-Khao Ya National Park in Phatthalung province yesterday, raging through more than 50 rai (8 hectares) of forest zone.
Phatthalung Governor Winai Buapradit coordinated with relevant authorities in a bid to extinguish the fire.
It remains unclear how the fire started, but sources said a blaze locals used to get honey from beehives might have triggered it.
The latest fire adds to the woes of the Southern region, with a big forest fire raging in Narathiwat province since May 3.
“We hope to put it out within the next three days,” Narathiwat Governor Sittichai Sakda said yesterday.
He said officials had managed to control the blaze to an extent using backhoes to dig water ponds at various corners to prevent it spreading further.
“We expect rain to come at the spot and it should help us extinguish the fire,” Sittichai said.
In the North, a fire resurfaced in Doi Suthep-Pui National Park yesterday, the same area hit by a blaze on Sunday.
“We used helicopters to spray more than 10,000 litres of water to try to contain the fire,” Pongpawat Yaiwongkorn said in his capacity as chief of the unit combating forest fires in Chiang Mai province.
Although the fire was finally put out, it destroyed more than 20 rai.
Officials vowed to step up patrols in forest zones as it was easier for a forest fire to start and spread in the dry season.
Thailand has been struggling with water shortages for months. Four major reservoirs, Bhumibol, Sirikit, Kwai Noi and Pasak Jolasid, have only a combined 1,697 million cubic metres of water – the equivalent of a two-month supply.
Salt water has intruded into many areas near the mouth of the Chao Phraya River, with some impact felt at tap-water production facilities.
Farmers in many drought-hit zones lamented that their crops, such as lemon and longan trees, had withered.
Web Source: THE NATION
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