Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Trinh Xuan Truong directly went to the scene to direct the fire fighting.

On the afternoon of February 20, Chairman of Lao Cai Provincial People's Committee Trinh Xuan Truong went directly to the scene to inspect and direct forest fire fighting work.

At the command center at Forest Ranger Station No. 4, in Seo Mi Ty village, Ta Van commune, Sa Pa town, together with the forces, Chairman of Lao Cai Provincial People's Committee Trinh Xuan Truong agreed on fire fighting plans.

Accordingly, forces need to carefully analyze the scene and actively deploy forest fire fighting plans to ensure safety and effectiveness. Localities need to prepare well for logistics conditions, ensuring adequate food and water supplies for those directly participating in forest fire fighting in the field.

At the same time, the Chairman of Lao Cai Provincial People's Committee also directed the establishment of a Mobile Command Team including: Comrade Trinh Xuan Truong, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; Comrade Nguyen Van Do, Deputy Commander of the Provincial Military Command; Mr. To Ngoc Lien, Chairman of Sa Pa Town People's Committee.

The command team, along with the reinforcement forces of the provincial police and militia, set up a mobile command post and directly moved to the scene to direct the construction of firebreaks, organize firefighting, and handle smoldering tree stumps to prevent the fire from spreading to Den Thanh village.

Chairman of Lao Cai Provincial People's Committee Trinh Xuan Truong requested Sa Pa Town People's Committee to coordinate with functional forces to continue implementing fire fighting plans according to the "4 on-site" motto.

Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Trinh Xuan Truong and the working delegation arrived at the scene to direct the fire fighting.

According to information from the authorities, as of 4:30 p.m. this afternoon (February 20), forces have controlled two of the three fire sources in Hoang Lien National Park, including the point near the residential area of Seo My Ty village and the point in the Na Hang area towards Hang village and San 1 village, Hoang Lien commune.

There is still a spot in Na Hang area towards Den Thanh village that continues to smolder, complicated by strong winds and lots of vegetation.

According to statistics, in addition to the town's troops, the military, police, and provincial forest rangers were also present to support Sa Pa, with a total of nearly 900 troops including logistics. The biggest goal is to prevent the fire from spreading and affecting the core forest area. The estimated area of burned forest is about 25 hectares, mainly poor forest, cogon grass, reeds, and ground cover.

According to information from the Lao Cai Province Hydrometeorological Station, on February 20, the low pressure area in the West is forecast to continue to develop and expand to the Southeast and then stabilize. Temperatures in the province are still increasing, and the O Quy Ho wind in Sa Pa is stronger. The average wind speed is level 2-3, gusting to level 4. Open areas are level 3-4, gusting above level 5, and the average daily humidity is around 45-50%. This wind is likely to last until the end of February 23 and then end.

On February 20, 2020, the Chairman of Lao Cai Provincial People's Committee continued to sign and issue urgent document No. 743/UBND-NLN directing agencies, units, localities, and forest owners to organize urgent measures to prevent and fight forest fires./.

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