Nam Dan: Pine forest in Khanh Son commune burns fiercely
(Baonghean.vn) - By late afternoon on August 12, the pine forest in Hamlet 3, Khanh Son Commune (Nam Dan District) was still burning fiercely. Hundreds of people and police, forest rangers, and militia were mobilized to the scene to control the fire.
On the evening of August 12, Mr. Nguyen Trong Tranh - Vice Chairman of Khanh Son Commune People's Committee (Nam Dan District) said that at around 7:30 a.m. on August 11, people discovered a fire suddenly breaking out in a pine forest area in the commune.
Upon receiving the news, Khanh Son commune authorities and local people joined in extinguishing the fire at around 11:15 am on August 11.
However, due to hot weather and strong southwest winds, at 6:00 p.m. on August 11, the fire flared up again and spread.
The Nam Dan District People's Committee mobilized a combined force of about 500 people, including forest rangers, police, soldiers of Brigade 414 and local residents to put out the fire. Late at night on August 11, hundreds of people shined lights, cleared firebreaks and used tree branches to put out the fire.
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| People and rangers clear firebreaks |
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| People put out fire to save forest |
“The fire spread from the pine forest in hamlet 16 to hamlet 3 of the commune. The thick vegetation combined with strong winds made it difficult to extinguish the fire. The steep hills and the distance from water sources meant that the fire could only be extinguished by manual methods such as cutting firebreaks and using tree branches,” said Mr. Tranh.
On the afternoon of August 12, many people from the village, including young men, women and men, hurriedly carried branches and buckets of water to the burning forest. Nearby, dozens of officers and soldiers from Mobile Ranger Team No. 1 and Mobile Ranger Team No. 2 of Nghe An prepared blowers and machetes to stop the fire. The heat from the fire rose nearly 5 meters high, making no one dare to approach.
Many people were exhausted and tired after 2 days and nights of saving the forest. Mr. Pham Viet Son (48 years old, hamlet 3, Khanh Son commune) - who was laying a firebreak with one hand - said: "From 7:30 pm on August 11 to 1:30 am this morning, we also exhausted ourselves to extinguish a section of forest. At noon today, after finishing lunch, we heard people report a fire, so the whole family had to run up the hill to continue extinguishing the fire."
Meanwhile, at the foot of the mountain, more than 20 households are also worried because the fire is only about 100m from their homes. Mr. Pham Viet Mai (62 years old, living in Hamlet 3, Khanh Son Commune, Nam Dan District), whose house is at the foot of the mountain, is worried: "I don't know if people can put out the fire tonight. Since yesterday, we have had to stay home 24/7 in case the fire spreads to our house to move our belongings."
At 6:30 p.m. on August 12, the alarm siren continuously sounded to mobilize people to go into the forest to put out the fire. At 8:30 p.m. tonight, the fire was still raging fiercely, making it very difficult to extinguish. Currently, the leaders of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development are present at the scene of the fire to direct the work of extinguishing the fire and saving the forest.
Doan Hoa
