Focus on forest fire prevention in the dry season

Faced with this situation, functional sectors, forest owners, and local authorities in the province have been synchronously implementing many measures to prevent and fight forest fires, preventing "fire" attacks.

Yok Don National Park (NP) has an area of ​​over 110,000 hectares of forest, and is one of the key areas in forest fire prevention and control (PCCCR).

The dipterocarp forest ecosystem of Yok Don National Park is characterized by thick vegetation and deciduous leaves in the dry season, creating a source of combustible materials that are easily ignited. To minimize the risk of fire, Forest Ranger Station No. 3 (Yok Don National Park) has proactively implemented preventive measures, including early burning. Mr. Phan Ba ​​Hoan, Head of Forest Ranger Station No. 3, said: "When the dry season comes, the rangers go to check and if there is a lot of forest combustible materials, we proactively burn early to minimize the risk of large fires, avoiding affecting the biodiversity of the forest. We usually burn at 9am and 3pm every day to strictly control and prevent the fire from spreading."

Yok Don National Park forest management and protection forces burn young vegetation during the dry season to prevent forest fires.

In addition to the early burning measure, Yok Don National Park has developed a fire prevention and control plan, and is ready with forces, vehicles and support tools in case of a fire. "We organize training courses and drills on forest fire prevention and control to improve the capacity of the forest rangers. At the same time, we step up propaganda for the people and residents living in the buffer zone, advising them not to bring fire sources into the forest, to avoid increasing the risk of forest fires," said Mr. Phan Thanh Hoa, Deputy Head of the Forest Protection Department of Yok Don National Park.

Chu Yang Sin National Park is managing nearly 60,000 hectares of forest, including 6,011 hectares of coniferous forest with thick undergrowth, containing many flammable essential oils, so the risk of forest fires is always present, especially in the dry season. Moreover, people in areas bordering the National Park often take advantage of the dry season to clear and burn undergrowth on their fields, which can easily lead to fires spreading into the forest. In case of a fire, fighting the forest fire will be more difficult because Chu Yang Sin National Park has high mountains and deep ravines, making the deployment of firefighting forces and equipment challenging.

Hot and dry weather is the time when the dipterocarp forests in Dak Lak province enter the leaf-changing season, easily increasing the risk of forest fires.

Mr. Loc Xuan Nghia, Director of Chu Yang Sin National Park, informed: "We have built firebreaks in key areas with high risk of fire. These firebreaks will help to divide the fire if it occurs, creating favorable conditions for fire fighting. Besides, we also strengthen patrolling, forest protection and establish checkpoints and patrol teams to promptly detect fire sources and prevent fire from spreading."

According to information from the provincial Forest Protection Department, due to the prolonged heat, the province currently has about 200,000 hectares of forest at very high risk of fire, mainly concentrated in Buon Don, Ea Sup and Ea H'leo districts. In addition, about 62,400 hectares of forest in M'Drak, Krong Bong, Ea Kar, Lak, Krong Nang, Krong Buk districts and Buon Ho town are also at high risk of fire. This situation requires urgent and effective forest fire prevention and control measures.

Forest protection patrol during the dry season at Chu Yang Sin National Park.

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Hung, Head of the Provincial Forest Protection Department, said: "To cope with the risk of forest fires, the Provincial People's Committee has directed relevant departments, branches, localities and forest owners to develop a forest fire prevention and control plan, following the "4 on-site" motto (on-site forces, on-site means, on-site logistics and on-site command). The functional branches also conduct forest fire prevention and control inspections for forest owners and localities, promptly remind, rectify and handle negligent units. The Provincial Forest Protection Department has assigned staff to be on duty 24/7 to promptly receive information and developments of forest fires throughout the province."

Not only stopping at fire prevention, the Provincial Forest Protection Department has also coordinated with functional agencies and localities to promote propaganda for people in the buffer zone. People in this area often have the habit of burning fields in the dry season, which is one of the causes of forest fires. Therefore, propaganda about fire prevention and control and raising awareness of forest protection for people is very important in minimizing unfortunate forest fires that may occur.

Source: https://baodaklak.vn/tin-noi-bat/202504/tap-trung-phong-chong-chay-rung-trong-mua-kho-c1518d8/