Bac Giang: Straining to protect forests from the danger of spreading fires

Many forests were burned down.

In recent days, a series of forest fires have occurred in several localities in the province. Even in the same area, while one fire has not been controlled, another has broken out. The functional forces, local authorities and people have had to work hard to prevent the fire.

Protective forest in Dang village, Long Son commune (Son Dong) burned over a large area.

Incomplete statistics in Son Dong district show that from April 12 to 16, there were 11 forest fires in the district, many of which were in natural forests and protective forests in the communes of An Lac, Tuan Dao, Long Son, Phuc Son, Giao Liem, etc.

Recorded in Dang village, Long Son commune, a fire broke out in a protective forest planted in plots 4, 5 and 83 owned by the Son Dong Protective Forest Management Board. The fire was discovered on the afternoon of April 15, but by the afternoon of April 16, the fire was still raging with billowing smoke. The trunks of pine and acacia trees planted nearly 15 years ago were burnt bare.

Upon receiving the news, the local authorities mobilized nearly 100 people including forest rangers, militia, security forces at the grassroots level, officers from the Son Dong Protective Forest Management Board and local people to participate in fighting the fire all night. The Forest Protection Department increased its forces and some specialized equipment to support.

Fire broke out fiercely in the protective forest in Long Son commune.

Arriving at Dang village on the afternoon of April 16, we saw the dark, haggard faces of the members of the forest fire fighting force, due to smoke, heat and lack of sleep. They were weaving through ravines and tree canopies to urgently prevent the fire from spreading. In the middle of summer, the heat seemed to double due to the raging fire and the increasingly strong wind, not only making it difficult to put out the fire but also putting the fire fighting force in danger.

Mr. Nguyen Van Toan, Commander of the Commune Military Command, quickly ate some dry food, drank some water instead of lunch, then quickly got to work creating a firebreak. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he said: “We haven’t had a break since last night. Due to the prolonged dry weather, the tree trunks, branches, leaves and ground cover caught fire like matches, making it very difficult to put out.”

Mr. Nguyen Minh Hai, Head of Son Dong Forest Protection Department, who is directly in charge of forest fire fighting in Long Son commune, could not hide his anxiety, because in addition to the area of ​​​​protected forest that is still burning and cannot be controlled, there is also the safety of many people who have been fighting the "fire" in the forest for many days. "Only when the fire fighting force returns home safely, will I feel secure," said Mr. Hai.

According to Mr. Tran Bao Son, Deputy Director of Son Dong Protective Forest Management Board (Department of Agriculture and Environment), as soon as the forest fire was detected, the alarm bell and loudspeakers rang out throughout the villages and hamlets to mobilize people to help put out the fire.

After nearly a night of urgent implementation of professional measures such as fanning and building firebreaks, by 5am on April 16, the forces had basically controlled the fire. However, the fire in the trunks of rotten trees and thick layers of ground cover was still smoldering, and when strong winds continued to blow the embers to other areas and then spread to the opposite forest.

According to initial assessment, the cause of the fire in the protective forest in Dang village was not due to people handling the vegetation of the adjacent production forest, but the starting point of the fire was in the core of the protective forest, most likely due to someone entering the forest and accidentally using fire to catch bees, causing the fire to spread. However, this is only the initial assessment of some local people, to clarify, the authorities need to intervene.

Worryingly, at noon on April 16, while forces were focusing on extinguishing the protective forest fire in Dang village, people discovered another protective forest fire in Khe Danh area, Thuong village and Ha village in Long Son commune. Mr. Nguyen Van Cuong, Chairman of Long Son commune People's Committee immediately directed cadres to urgently sound gongs and use loudspeakers to call on people to join hands in going to the forest to help extinguish the fire. By about 2:00 p.m. the same day, the fire was under control.

For Luc Ngan district, this week also became the focus with consecutive forest fires in many highland communes such as: Cam Son, Tan Son, Phong Minh, Sa Ly, Son Hai. From April 14 to 16 alone, the whole district had 6 forest fires, including natural forests in Sa Ly, Son Hai, Phong Minh communes. In the natural forest fire that occurred on April 16 in Phong Minh commune, the district mobilized military forces to support, and it was not until about 9:00 p.m. that day that it was brought under control.

In Luc Nam district, recently, a number of fires in planted forests and natural forests were also discovered in the communes of Cam Ly, Huyen Son, Luc Son... Although the fires were controlled, the damage left behind was quite large.

Lack of strict security

According to the Bac Giang Forest Protection Department (Department of Agriculture and Environment), since the beginning of the year, the province has had 33 forest fires, an increase of 32 cases compared to the same period in 2024. The area of ​​​​fire and damage has also increased significantly, but currently the specialized agency is focusing on fighting forest fires, so there are no specific statistics. The common point of the recent fires is that they encountered strong winds, a lot of flammable materials, combined with dry, hot weather, and difficult terrain in many places, greatly affecting the effectiveness of fire fighting.

According to the people in the areas where forest fires occurred, there has never been a year with such harsh and extreme weather as this year. Since storm No. 3, there has not been any heavy rain in the province, and a large amount of fallen branches, leaves, and dry vegetation has not been collected or processed. The prolonged dry weather, people going into the forest to collect and burn the ground cover to prepare for economic forest planting... are the main causes of large-scale forest fires.

Crews are working to create a firebreak to prevent the fire from spreading.

The Department of Agriculture and Environment said that the cause of each forest fire has not yet been determined. The forest rangers are actively coordinating with relevant agencies and local authorities to urgently investigate and identify the arsonists for handling in accordance with the law. However, there are opinions that, in addition to some cases caused by people accidentally causing fires, it is not impossible to rule out the possibility that bad guys intentionally set fires with the aim of encroaching on land. Therefore, the authorities need to promptly investigate and clarify the cause of each fire to strictly handle it for individual deterrence and general prevention.

Talking with Mr. Ha Minh Quy, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment, it was learned that through this forest fire, it shows that forest fire prevention and fighting at the grassroots level still reveals many limitations.

Specifically, recognizing that the forest fire situation will be extremely complicated, since the beginning of the year, the Provincial People's Committee and the Department of Agriculture and Environment have issued many documents directing, urging and organizing inspection teams, guiding forest fire prevention and fighting work, but there are still places that are subjective and have not prepared well for the "4 on-site" work. When detecting a forest fire, the participation of the people and organizations has not been well mobilized. In addition, some places have shown confusion, lack of initiative, and underestimated this work, thinking that it is the job of the forest owner and the forestry agency.

At the same time, although forest fire warning levels IV (dangerous) and V (extremely dangerous) have been announced for a long time, many places still allow people to enter the forest to exploit wood, clear vegetation, catch bees... without timely control and prevention measures.

Scene of a forest fire in Cam Son commune (Luc Ngan).

According to Mr. Ha Minh Quy, the hot and dry weather is expected to continue in the coming time, and the risk of forest fires will continue to be complicated. Localities need to identify forest fire prevention and fighting as a key task to be proactive, ready with forces, means, logistics, etc. In particular, the fire fighting process needs to pay attention to ensuring absolute safety for people, organizing in groups, having commanders and taking regular roll calls.

Localities have directed authorities to regularly inspect and closely monitor the area of ​​natural forests that have been burned in recent times, and require the scene to be kept intact to carry out zoning and promote natural forest regeneration.

On April 16, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee issued a Directive on focusing on forest protection and forest fire prevention and fighting. Accordingly, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee requested localities to direct competent agencies to resolutely focus on investigating and verifying the cause and perpetrators of forest fires, and establish a case file to prosecute the case (if there is sufficient evidence) for strict handling in accordance with the law, ensuring deterrence.

Directing competent authorities to coordinate with the People's Committees at the commune level to inspect all areas, especially key areas at risk of forest fires, illegal logging, exploitation and encroachment of forest land, to concentrate forces to regularly patrol, inspect, promptly prevent and handle violations.

Organize the implementation of forest fire prevention and fighting plans, proactively deploy forces and means according to the "4 on-site" motto to ensure timely and quick control of forest fires, and prevent large fires from occurring.

People are strictly prohibited from burning and clearing vegetation or using fire in the forest when the forest fire forecast is at level IV (dangerous level) or level V (extremely dangerous level) and violations are strictly handled. At the same time, measures must be taken to prevent people from entering or leaving the forest or exploiting planted forests during the peak period of forest fires. Directing the temporary suspension of recreational, entertainment and tourism activities in the forest by people, especially on weekends, holidays of April 30 and May 1 until further instructions are issued.

Article and photos: Nguyen Huong

Source: https://baobacgiang.vn/bac-giang-cang-minh-bao-ve-rung-truoc-hiem-hoa-chay-lan-postid416303.bbg