Central region proactively prevents 'fires' to protect forests in dry season

Authorities in Da Nang put out a forest fire on the spot - Photo: VGP/Minh Trang

Quang Tri province currently has more than 276,000 hectares of forest and land planned for forest development, with a coverage rate of over 49.4%. Forest protection and fire prevention and fighting (PCCCR) are always given priority, especially during the dry season from April to September.

In Dakrong district, the locality has over 80,560 hectares of forest, the risk of forest fires is very high due to dry weather and slash-and-burn farming activities. The People's Committee of Trieu Nguyen commune, which has over 4,900 hectares of forest, has strengthened the forest fire prevention and control steering committee, arranged forces to be on duty 24/7, increased inspections, reminded households and strictly handled violations. In the past 3 years, there have been no serious forest fires here.

Dakrong District Forest Protection Department has coordinated with communes and towns to check fire-prone areas, prepare sufficient human resources and equipment, and be on duty continuously in key areas such as Trieu Nguyen, Ba Long, Ta Rut... At the same time, 67 mass fire prevention and fighting teams with 663 participants were organized.

Mr. Phan Van Phuoc, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment, in charge of the Forest Protection Department, said that entering the dry season this year, the Department of Agriculture and Environment has directed the Forest Protection Department to proactively monitor weather forecasts, warn of forest fire risks and provide information to localities and people to implement forest fire prevention and control plans.

At the same time, strengthen the inspection of fire prevention and fighting work in localities, especially in key areas with high risks and areas where forest fires often occur every year. Organize on-duty and be ready to mobilize forces, vehicles, and fire-fighting equipment to support localities when large fires occur and upon request from the locality.

Strengthening the application of information technology, GIS technology and modern technologies to improve capacity and quality in forest management and protection, forest fire forecasting and warning, early detection of deforestation and forest fires...

Da Nang City has a total forest area and planted forest area of ​​nearly 62,546 hectares, of which the forest area is more than 57,731 hectares.

According to the Da Nang City Forest Protection Department, the weather in the area is currently entering a period of prolonged hot and dry weather. From April 21 to 24, the risk of forest fires is warned at level III - a level with a high risk of fire, requiring vigilance and initiative from the whole society.

The prolonged heat wave over a large area, with many days without rain, has caused the forest vegetation to become brittle and dry, making it very susceptible to fire. In particular, some forest areas bordering residential areas and coastal areas, such as Son Tra peninsula, Hoa Bac, Hoa Phu, Hoa Ninh (Hoa Vang district) and Nam O area (Lien Chieu district) are at high risk of fire.

The Da Nang Forest Protection Department recommends that people and tourists absolutely do not use fire in the forest and forest edges, including burning garbage, cooking, or burning vegetation to treat production land. At the same time, people living near the forest need to increase inspection, early detection of fire risks, and proactively notify the authorities when detecting unusual smoke or fire.

In addition, forest rangers, militia and localities have proactively developed fire prevention and control plans; deployed patrols and controls, especially in areas with large numbers of people entering and leaving the forest, such as eco-tourism areas, picnic trails, Linh Ung Pagoda area - Son Tra peninsula... Many signs warning of forest fire risks have also been installed at key locations.

Mr. Nguyen Duc Dung, Deputy Head of the Mobile Forest Ranger and Fire Prevention Team, said that the unit always strictly maintains the inspection and periodic maintenance of specialized equipment. This is one of the important conditions that helps the forest rangers to be proactive and ready to respond quickly to forest fire situations if they occur.

At the same time, the Mobile Forest Ranger Team and PCCCR also closely coordinate with localities with forests to conduct field inspections, review the current status of forests, identify key areas with high risk of fire, and from there develop prevention plans close to the actual situation of the area to be able to prevent and promptly handle potential risks.

Currently, the Mobile Forest Ranger Team and PCCCR are coordinating to support and provide professional guidance to localities with forests interspersed with residential areas such as Hoa An and Hoa Phat wards (Cam Le district) to enhance the capacity to respond to and handle forest fire situations on the spot. Thereby, contributing to improving the effectiveness of PCCCR, spreading awareness of forest protection in the community.

Forces in Quang Nam promote forest fire prevention

According to the Forest Protection Department, Department of Agriculture and Environment of Quang Nam province, proactively implementing forest fire prevention and control work, localities in Quang Nam province have built, consolidated and improved the activities of mass groups and teams to protect forests and prevent and fight forest fires with 360 groups and teams and nearly 3,000 members participating, contributing to improving the effectiveness of forest fire prevention and control.

Quang Nam province strengthens grassroots forces to patrol, collect information, coordinate, and support specialized agencies in forest protection and forest fire prevention and fighting in the locality.

Mr. Ho Quang Buu, Vice Chairman of Quang Nam Provincial People's Committee, said that the province has developed remote forest fire management applications. At the same time, he directed localities to strongly propagate the harmful effects of forest fires, propagate so that people understand and join the government in forest fire prevention and control when incidents occur and coordinate with the government to put out fires as quickly as possible. In addition, propagate to people so that they can propagate to their relatives to understand the harmful effects of forest fires to minimize the occurrence of forest fires.

The Department of Agriculture and Environment has directed the Forest Protection Department to monitor and warn of forest fires early through the GIS system, and to increase inspections in key areas. Forest owners must develop a fire prevention and control plan according to the "4 on-site" principle, and strictly manage the use of fire in the forest and along the forest edge to minimize the risk of fire spreading.

Since the beginning of 2024, the province has recorded 8 forest fires, damaging more than 22 hectares, worth nearly 890 million VND. In addition, there were 27 vegetation fires that did not cause deforestation.

Minh Trang

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/mien-trung-chu-dong-phong-giac-lua-giu-rung-mua-kho-102250423163622093.htm