High alert for wildfires.

Following the storm, many forests in Quang Ninh province suffered severe damage. At this time, the dry season has arrived, and fallen, uprooted, and dead trees pose a very high risk of forest fires. This requires local authorities, units, and forest owners to promptly clean up the forests, salvage timber, and especially prioritize forest fire prevention.

Before Typhoon No. 3, Quang Ninh province had over 434,000 hectares of forest and forestry land, accounting for 70% of the province's total natural land area, with a forest cover rate of nearly 55%. After the typhoon, over 117,000 hectares of forest in the province suffered damage ranging from 30-100%, mostly planted pine, acacia, and eucalyptus forests. In addition, thousands of hectares of natural forest were affected, with most trees having broken trunks and branches, and 100% of their leaves stripped off, making recovery impossible. The estimated total value of damage to the forestry sector is over 5,000 billion VND.

With the extensive damage to the forest area resulting in approximately 6 million tons of highly flammable materials including trunks, branches, roots, and dry leaves, combined with the hot and dry weather conditions, the risk of large-scale forest fires is very high when exposed to fire or other external factors.

Officers and soldiers of Brigade 147 participate in extinguishing forest fires in Dai Yen ward, Ha Long City.

In fact, recently, many fires have occurred in localities with forests damaged by storms. For example, in Ha Long City, a forest fire occurred in Zone 6, Dai Yen Ward. Officers and soldiers of Brigade 147, along with other forces and local people, spent many hours extinguishing the fire. The damaged forest area was approximately 3 hectares. A forest fire also occurred in the hilly area from Zone 5 to Zone 7, Hong Ha Ward. Ha Long City had to mobilize the Fire and Rescue Police, Forest Rangers, the Ha Long City Military Command, the Hon Gai Port Border Guard Station, Border Guard Squadron 2, Brigade 170, forces from Hong Ha Ward and neighboring wards... to extinguish the fire.

In Cam Pha City, local authorities mobilized forces from the Cam Pha City Military Command, Warehouse 84 (Military Region 3 Technical Department), Fire Police, Forest Rangers, Cam Pha Cement Joint Stock Company, Vinacomin Miners' Transportation and Shuttle Company, Khe Sim One-Member Limited Liability Company, Quang Hanh Coal Company - TKV, along with militia and people of Quang Hanh ward, to create firebreaks and extinguish the forest fire in area 7A, Quang Hanh ward. The estimated damage is about 10 hectares of forest, mainly acacia and eucalyptus trees.

Meanwhile, on the island, authorities in Ngoc Vung commune have successfully contained and extinguished a forest fire in the area, preventing it from spreading to neighboring forests. The burned forest consisted of eucalyptus trees that had fallen and broken due to the impact of Typhoon No. 3. The estimated burned area is over 1 hectare.

Since the storm, the province has experienced more than 10 forest fires, including 3 in Van Don, 3 in Cam Pha, 2 in Ha Long, 1 in Ba Che, and 1 in Mong Cai, affecting over 57 hectares of forest. Local authorities have mobilized more than 1,300 personnel, including forest rangers, police, military, and local forces, to directly participate in extinguishing the forest fires.

Given the very high risk of forest fires, Mr. Nghiem Xuan Cuong, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, requested that localities with forests implement a high-intensity campaign to support the clearing and cleaning of forests, and the harvesting and utilization of forest products in areas damaged by Typhoon No. 3; and strengthen forest management, protection, and fire prevention and control measures. Localities should proactively mobilize forces and resources in their areas according to the "four on-the-spot" principle to launch a campaign to support forest owners in clearing and cleaning forests and harvesting forest products in damaged areas; develop detailed plans and urgently design firebreaks to prevent and control forest fires; and strengthen the dissemination of information on the Law on Fire Prevention and Control to households, especially those living near forests. The goal is to minimize forest fires in the area.

The dry season has only just begun, while the area of forest requiring clearing, cleaning, and timber harvesting remains very large, leading to a high risk of forest fires. To minimize damage caused by forest fires, in addition to the involvement of local authorities and functional forces, the cooperation of the people, especially those living near forests, is crucial in forest fire prevention and control.

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