Behind the forest fires in Nghe An

Pearl - Quang An• DNUM_AJZAHZCABJ 08:11

(Baonghean) - Since the beginning of the year, 13 forest fires have occurred in Nghe An. Although the authorities and local forces have actively put out the forest fires, there have been human losses and damage to large areas of forest. Forest fire prevention and fighting (PCCCR) work still has many shortcomings, so all levels of government and people are always worried about forest fires.

Lack of both people and means

Nam Xuan Commune is identified as a key area at risk of forest fires in Nam Dan District. There are 335 hectares of pine and acacia trees planted here, concentrated in the area. The commune is located in an area directly affected by the southwest monsoon, and the terrain is steep, so firefighting in the area is difficult, and there is almost no water source to put out the fire.
Despite the relatively large forest area, the Nam Xuan commune forest protection team currently has only 4 people, including 1 team leader and 3 members. Forest patrol work often encounters many shortcomings due to the small force.

Fighting a forest fire in Nam Kim commune (Nam Dan). Photo: Quang An

“In the past, the forest protection team had more than 10 people, but now they have all withdrawn to work for economic purposes, now there are only 3 people left. When there is a forest fire, we have to report it immediately to get support because the local forces cannot handle it if the fire is large.”

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Chat - Captain of Nam Xuan Commune Forest Protection Team.

In addition to the lack of human resources in forest protection, the local fire fighting equipment is also very limited. The entire Nam Xuan commune is only equipped with 2 blowers, and tools such as knives and machetes are mainly provided by the security team. It is worth mentioning that when a fire occurs, this equipment is not enough to meet the fire fighting needs.

Very rudimentary fire-fighting tools such as fire extinguishers, tree branches, and machetes are not effective in extinguishing forest fires. Photo: Lam Tung

In Nam Kim commune (Nam Dan), there is no forest protection team but only 1 officer in charge of forestry. The current equipment is only 2 blowers, the rest are mainly rudimentary items such as fire extinguishers, knives, and machetes. Protective gear for fire fighting forces is almost non-existent.

This is also the common situation of all communes with forests in the province. That explains why, when a fire occurs, it is very difficult to mobilize enough human resources and means to deal with the "fire enemy".

In June, Nam Xuan and Nam Kim, Khanh Son (Nam Dan) had continuous forest fires, destroying many areas of pine and acacia trees... All communes had to report to the People's Committee of Nam Dan district, requesting the mobilization of support from the army and fire police to put out the fires.

Soldiers were mobilized to create a firebreak in the forest fire in Nam Kim commune (Nam Dan). Photo: QA

“Another problem is that communes are confused about coordinating forces to put out forest fires. Typically, in June, when reinforcements arrived at Khanh Son commune, the locality did not assign guides, while the fire broke out at night, so the forces did not know how to reach the scene as quickly as possible because they were not familiar with the area.”

Mr. Nguyen Dinh The - Head of Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Nam Dan district.

The “4 on-site” in PCCCR includes: On-site forces; on-site means; on-site logistics and on-site command. However, in many communes, this issue is not well demonstrated, still confused, passive, and has not been promoted.

In mobilizing forces to help, it was shown that the forces sometimes did not know the way to the fire to put it out because they did not have a map and were not familiar with the terrain. One of the most important requirements in fighting forest fires is to reach the scene as quickly as possible.

Another problem is that when many fire fighting forces arrive at the same time, the highest command level is not clear, so the forces all command their own forces, thus not creating strength when fighting the fire.

Recently, in a meeting, the Provincial Party Secretary pointed out that: The commander needs to quickly analyze and assess the terrain, scale and specific conditions of the fire based on the available forces and means on the spot to come up with the most effective firefighting command plan and solution. The creation of firebreaks and pre-burning treatment aims to anticipate, localize and isolate the fire. If the firebreaks are utilized through natural trails or streams, the effectiveness will be higher. The firefighting force must be evenly distributed among groups and teams and should include local people familiar with the terrain and people with certain knowledge of firefighting techniques and techniques.

Finding effective solutions

According to Mr. Nguyen Manh Cuong - Deputy Head of the Provincial Forest Protection Department, the reason for the increase in forest fires during this year's dry season is extreme weather, prolonged heat, dry vegetation, large sources of combustible materials, and the risk of fire is always at level 5, an extremely dangerous level.

The dry, thick vegetation keeps the pine forests at a high fire risk. Photo: QA

More than 15,000 hectares of pine forests in Nam Dan, Nghi Loc, Dien Chau, Do Luong, Yen Thanh, Quynh Luu districts, Hoang Mai town, Hung Nguyen and Thanh Chuong are always in a state of alarm.

Meanwhile, the annual area cleared of vegetation is only about 5 thousand hectares from the state budget and the forest owners' remaining funds from pine resin exploitation, the rest has no funding for clearing.

People in Nghi Lam commune (Nghi Loc) collect pine needles to grow chives and partly limit forest fires in Nghi Loc district in recent times. Photo: QA

Forest fires often occur during peak hot days, at noon and at night, making it difficult to fight forest fires. Some fires occur continuously, concentrated on extremely hot days, so the fire fighting forces of the Forest Protection Department, military units, Fire Police, and forest owners have enthusiastically participated in fighting the fires.

But when the next forest fires occurred, these forces were almost exhausted. There were no reserve forces to mobilize to fight additional forest fires. This is the difficulty in mobilizing forest fire fighting forces at present.

Another difficulty is that forest fire fighting equipment is still lacking for the reinforced fire fighting forces of military units and militia forces. Local funds for paying allowances and logistics for forces mobilized to fight forest fires are lacking.

Militia forces on duty at Nam Kim commune (Nam Dan). Photo: QA

Forest fire prevention and control work has not been implemented well since the beginning of the year. In addition, the forest protection force is too thin (on average, 1 forest ranger is responsible for more than 1,000 hectares of forest), so it is difficult to keep watch and prohibit forest fires.

Districts, cities, Forest Protection Departments, forest owners, local authorities at commune level, and forest fire fighting teams need to continue to review and re-examine forces, vehicles, and materials to effectively implement the "4 on-site" motto in forest fire fighting; assign forces to be on duty 24/7 every day during the hot season. In particular, draw experience and find effective solutions after recent fires.
Currently, with extreme weather and intense heat, the risk of forest fires is very high. Therefore, in addition to prevention work, localities and forest owners need to build firebreaks that are sufficient to prevent forest fires from spreading when they occur.

For key forests and forests at high risk of forest fires, it is necessary to set up checkpoints, patrol and guard, control people entering and leaving the forest, prevent acts of bringing fire into the forest; promptly detect fire points, mobilize forces to participate in controlling and extinguishing forest fires in the shortest time, and prevent large fires from occurring.
At the same time, the investigation into the cause and perpetrator of the forest fire must also be carried out resolutely to severely punish and set an example for others.