Lessons learned from forest fires in Nghe An

Forest fires continue to occur

According to the report of the Forest Protection Department, since the beginning of the year, Nghe An has had 13 forest fires, with a total burned forest area of ​​over 17 hectares. These were the forest fire in Thuong Son commune, Do Luong district; the giang and nua forest fire in Mon Son commune, Con Cuong district; the Nghi Dong forest fire in Nghi Loc district; Quynh Thuan commune, Quynh Luu district... Notably, on July 12 and 13 alone, Nghe An had two consecutive forest fires in Nam Dan and Dien Chau, of which the forest fire in Nam Dan district was large-scale, located in Phu Loc hamlet, Dai Loc, Thuong Tan Loc commune, Nam Dan district. The burned forest area was about more than 10 hectares.

To fight the forest fire, the force mobilized over 2,300 people, mainly forest rangers, militia, fire police, district police, soldiers, people living near the forest and organizations...

Through forest fires, in general, local Party committees and authorities have promoted the role of local forces in fire fighting and overcoming consequences. For example, in the forest fire in Thuong Tan Loc commune, Nam Dan district, 650 people were mobilized to put out the fire, and in the forest fire in Dien Chau district, nearly 500 people were mobilized. Local militia forces, local soldiers, police, forest rangers and people proactively fought the fire, created firebreaks to prevent the spread of fire, and promptly evacuated people and property.

During the fire fighting process, although the location of the fire is often in areas with high temperatures, smoke, dust, dense forests, and difficult terrain, the rangers, police, soldiers and people still do not mind the difficulties and dangers, actively put out the fire, and move people and property in the dangerous area to a safe place.

What do you see after the fires?

The large-scale forest fires that have occurred consecutively in Nghe An during the peak of the heat wave have sounded the alarm about the risk of forest fires in many localities with pine forests. Although the consequences of the recent forest fires have not been fully recorded, the damage caused by the above-mentioned forest fires is certainly very large; directly affecting the ecological environment, water resources, daily life and livelihoods of people in the surrounding areas.

Forest fires, especially the one in Thuong Tan Loc commune, Nam Dan district, have exposed many shortcomings. That is, in key communes with pine forests such as Thuong Tan Loc, Nam Hung, Nam Nghia... the locality has not set up checkpoints at the forest gates to control people entering and leaving the forest.

For example, in Tan Thuong Loc commune, Nam Dan district, because there is no checkpoint, people from all over freely enter the pine forest, go to Ba Khe reservoir for sightseeing, and bring fire to grill things. At the time of the forest fire, 4 workers were surveying the power line in the forest of Thuong Tan Loc commune and smoked and threw ashes on the forest floor. This could be the cause of the forest fire on July 12 in Nam Dan. In addition, the area of ​​vegetation under the dense pine forest canopy has not been treated.

The process of extinguishing the forest fire in Thuong Tan Loc commune, Nam Dan district mobilized a large force, but the approach to the fire scene was slow, so the fire broke out big and spread, making it difficult to extinguish. Not to mention that there were times when the forest fire was extinguished, but because the ashes were not completely treated, it flared up again.

In Dien Chau district, on July 13, a pine forest fire broke out in Dien Phu commune. A representative of Dien Phu commune People's Committee shared: Immediately after receiving the news, the local authorities mobilized nearly 500 people to fight the fire. Including forces from Dien Thanh Border Guard Station, District Police, Dien Chau District Military Command, Mobile Forest Ranger Team, Forest Ranger Sub-Department of Region 2, Nghi Loc District, and forces from 5 neighboring communes, after 4 hours, the fire was extinguished.

However, there are still shortcomings such as the lack of firefighting equipment such as blowers and chainsaws to cut firebreaks. Most people mainly use tree branches and other tools to put out fires, so the effectiveness is not high. Dien Phu commune has over 300 hectares of pine forest bordering Nghi Yen commune, Nghi Loc district, where forest fires frequently occur. According to the plan, 7 km of firebreaks should be built, but due to lack of funds, it has not been implemented yet. The recent forest fire in Dien Phu commune, due to the lack of firebreaks, the forest fire spread quickly, making rescue and extinguishment difficult.

Currently, Nghe An province has a total forest area of ​​956,703 hectares (natural forest 783,699.87 hectares; planted forest 173,055.36 hectares), of which the area at high risk of forest fires is concentrated in 15,476 hectares of pine plantations and 720 hectares of mixed eucalyptus forests. These are localities such as Thanh Chuong, Do Luong, Nam Dan, Nghi Loc, Yen Thanh, Dien Chau, Quynh Luu, Hung Nguyen, and Vinh city.

Of the total of more than 15,000 hectares of flammable forests, each year the province only clears 2,000 - 2,500 hectares of vegetation under the canopy. The rest do not have funds to clear, and the risk of forest fires is always threatening.

A worrying fact in fire prevention and control work is that the firebreak system in Nghe An is too small compared to actual requirements and was built in previous years, now covered with vegetation, the size of the firebreak is small, not enough to separate the fire. For example, Dien Chau district has over 6,000 hectares of pine forest, currently has over 40 km of firebreak that has not been repaired, Yen Thanh district has over 1,000 hectares of pine forest, has over 30 km of firebreak that has not been repaired. According to estimates, the whole province is still lacking about 150 km of new firebreaks and hundreds of km of firebreaks that have not been repaired.

Currently, many localities still lack forest fire fighting equipment. For example, Thanh Chuong district has a large forest area (64,869 ha), but the whole district only has 35 blowers, many of which are damaged. Currently, 5 communes do not have blowers, 7 communes do not have chainsaws. The lack of specialized forest fire fighting equipment and means makes fire fighting difficult. In many communes, cadres and militia forces put out fires with tree branches and rudimentary means, so the effectiveness is not high.

At this time, Nghe An is still constructing the North-South expressway through some pine forest areas of Nghi Loc, Hung Nguyen, Quynh Luu, Hoang Mai and Hung Nguyen districts. Although the authorities have advised the construction units not to affect the surrounding forest areas, there is still a potential risk of forest fires when many activities take place here.

Enhance solutions

To be proactive in forest fire prevention and fighting (PCCCR), localities and competent agencies need to urgently direct and strengthen the implementation of urgent measures to prevent and fight forest fires. Localities continue to review forest fire prevention and fighting plans, especially forces, means, logistics, command, and communication to effectively implement the motto "4 on-site - 5 ready".

Strengthening the fire prevention and control work of the functional forces at the grassroots level. Gradually equipping specialized vehicles for the local forces. Localities also need to repair and rebuild firebreaks, especially in areas with high risk of forest fires. At the same time, there are resolute measures to deal with individuals and groups that lack awareness in forest protection and cause fires...