Forest fire spreads, Dien Chau plans to evacuate people

A fierce fire broke out at 4 p.m. on June 27 in the pine forest of Dien Loi commune. Photo: Quang An

According to the reporter's records, the fire broke out fiercely, especially in hamlet 6, Dien Loi commune, combined with strong winds that blew the fire up to tens of meters high. Although the force focused on cutting the firebreak, it was still unable to stop the fire from getting too big.

By 5:00 p.m. this afternoon, the fire had spread to Dien Phu commune and was at risk of blowing back toward Son Thanh commune - where the fire occurred on June 26.

Hundreds of soldiers from Regiment 1, Division 324 were mobilized to help put out the fire. Photo: Quang An

Faced with the complicated developments of the fire, provincial leaders directed Dien Chau district, local authorities of Dien Loi commune and neighboring communes to mobilize all human resources and means, strictly implementing the "4 on-site" motto to extinguish the fire as quickly as possible.

This afternoon, forces from neighboring communes such as Dien Tho, Dien An, Dien Loc... came to support the fire fighting in Dien Loi commune. Regiment 1, Division 324 also mobilized hundreds of soldiers along with local forces including police, army, forest rangers, Dien Thanh Border Guard Station... are still actively fighting the fire.

Forces focus on extinguishing forest fires. Photo: Van Truong

Mr. Nguyen Duc Kien - Secretary of the Dien Loi Commune Party Committee said: "Given the complicated developments of the fire, we have made a plan to evacuate households located near the edge of the forest. We are focusing on hamlets 3, 4, 5, and 6 with about 250 households located in the danger zone and have informed them to be ready to move to a safe place. Currently, the forces are focusing all their efforts to control the fire before dark."

Black smoke billows from a fire behind a house in Dien Loi commune. Photo: Van Truong