Rangers at the Ba Vi National Park clean the forest floor to reduce fire risks. (Source: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Baking weather has pushed the forest fire warning in six provinces to level V – the extremely dangerous level, according to the Vietnam Forest Administration under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
These localities are Phu Tho in the north as well as Ha Tinh, Khanh Hoa, Nghe An, Quang Binh and Quang Ngai in the centre of the country.
The administration has urged the localities to take precautionary measures and make local forces ready to put any fires under control.
They were asked to deploy more forest rangers to guide locals on safe farming practices, zone off areas where slash-and-burn practice is strictly forbidden, and keep strict control on forest entry.
On June 13, there were three forest fires recorded Nghe An’s Thanh Chuong district. They were promptly dealt with but still caused damage to locals.
Another fire, which took hold on peat land in Ca Mau’s U Minh district on June 10, has yet to be extinguished, with damage mounting to 100 million VND (4,500 USD) so far. Locals said the fire is now smoldering in the peaty soil about 1 meter under the ground’s surface.-VNA
