Nghe An 'activates' multiple forest fire prevention and control measures.

Watching out for forest fires on the hottest day of the day.

These days, with the scorching heat, the People's Committee of Dien Phu commune, Dien Chau district, has activated a checkpoint right at the forest entrance, on the road to Xuan Duong lake, to control people entering and leaving the forest. Mr. Thai Ba The, Chairman of the Dien Phu Commune People's Committee, said: This checkpoint is staffed 24/7 by militia, commune police, and forestry officials.
People entering and exiting the forest fire prevention and control checkpoints in Dien Phu commune, Dien Chau district, comply with the requirement to declare personal information, and beekeeping is strictly prohibited during the dry season. Approximately 25-30 people enter the forest daily to harvest pine resin or tend to their farms.

These days, at the forest checkpoint in Xuan Son hamlet, Dien Doai commune, the militia, commune police, and forestry officials are working tirelessly to protect the forest during the hot, dry season.

Mr. Nguyen Khanh Duong, Chairman of the People's Committee of Dien Doai commune, said: The entire commune has 469 hectares of forest, including 181 hectares of pine forest, many areas of which have not been cleared of undergrowth, so the risk of forest fires is very high. In addition to checkpoints at the forest entrance, the leaders of Dien Doai commune, along with other forces, regularly inspect forest fire prevention and control work in many other forest areas to detect and handle incidents promptly when they occur.

Mr. Tang Van Luyen, Chairman of the Dien Chau District People's Committee, said:The district has over 2,000 hectares of pine forest. To minimize the risk of forest fires, the district has established four checkpoints at the forest entrances, including two in Dien Phu commune, one in Dien Doai commune, and one in Minh Chau commune.

The district directed the Dien Chau District Forest Protection Force to coordinate with forest owners to clear dry undergrowth beneath the pine forest canopy in several key areas prone to fire.

During this period, Dien Chau district also coordinated with various organizations to conduct mobile propaganda campaigns on forest fire prevention and control in the communes. In some communes, village and hamlet officials in Dien Chau district even rode motorbikes and used loudspeakers to navigate through village roads and alleys to disseminate information on forest fire prevention and control.

Similarly, in the Quyet mountain area, Trung Do ward, Vinh city, there are 3 checkpoints controlling people entering and leaving the forest, with forest rangers and related forces always on duty to control people bringing fire into the forest.

In Do Luong district, forest rangers have organized a fire watch force and are on duty 24/7, monitoring camera footage transmitted to a server located at the Do Luong District Forest Ranger Station. This allows them to promptly detect any forest fires and mobilize rescue forces to extinguish them.

Mr. Vo Si Lam, Head of the Do Luong District Forest Protection Department, added: Do Luong District has established a Zalo group called "Do Luong Forestry," and members of the forest fire prevention and control steering committee from the commune and district levels all participate, which is very convenient for directing forest fire prevention and control.

Risk of forest fires during the hot season.

According to the Forest Protection Department's report: Areas at high risk of forest fires in Nghe An include 15,476 hectares of pine plantations in Dien Chau, Hung Nguyen, Yen Thanh, and Thanh Chuong districts… There are also 720 hectares of mixed eucalyptus forests (a species with essential oils, easily flammable), over 42,900 hectares of bamboo forests, and 173,867 hectares of mixed timber-bamboo forests.

To proactively combat forest fires, from the beginning of 2024 to the present, localities and forest owners have organized the collection and processing of undergrowth, reducing flammable materials on more than 1,999 hectares, and repairing 186 km of firebreaks. They have also created 62 km of new firebreaks in production forests bordering natural forests, and renovated and repaired fire watchtowers and fire prohibition signs. Funding has been allocated to purchase and distribute forest firefighting equipment such as blowers, fire beaters, and rakes to Forest Ranger Stations, forest owners, and commune People's Committees.

Specifically, seven fire surveillance camera systems were installed in the districts of Nam Dan, Thanh Chuong, Do Luong, Yen Thanh, and Dien Chau. To date, the entire province has 12 fire surveillance camera systems, 180 blowers, 85 brush cutters; 122 chainsaws, 1,610 fire beaters, 2,574 machetes, 2,844 rakes, hoes, and shovels; 26 water pumps, 250 GPS devices; and 17 binoculars....

The Forest Protection Department directs forestry units to regularly test-operate various types of machinery and equipment to ensure readiness for forest fire fighting.

Given the high risk of forest fires, the Forest Protection Department has directed its subordinate units to maintain 100% of their personnel on duty 24/7 during periods of hot weather and high fire risk. Forest owners and commune-level People's Committees are to deploy forces to monitor and control access to and from the forest in key forest areas, at fire watchtowers, and forest protection stations where forest fires are likely to occur, in order to proactively prevent and control forest fires.

However, there are still difficulties and shortcomings in forest fire prevention and control. For example, while the annual budget allocated to forest owners (organizations) and local authorities for forest fire prevention and control has been provided, it has not met the actual needs of the forest fire prevention and control plan. This is especially true for tasks such as clearing undergrowth, creating firebreaks, and purchasing equipment and vehicles.

When forest fires occur, the reception and processing of forest fire information is slow due to the ineffective implementation of the "four on-the-spot" forest fire prevention and control plan, leading to large-scale fires before forest firefighting forces are deployed.

During the mobilization and command of forest firefighting efforts at the scene, some fires were still disorganized, and there were many shortcomings in command, logistics, and firefighting equipment, especially in large forest fires involving multiple forces. Investigating and prosecuting violations related to forest fires also faced many difficulties, and the causes of most forest fires remained undetermined.

For forest areas managed by the commune People's Committee and households, the implementation of forest fire prevention and control measures such as clearing undergrowth, creating firebreaks, and equipping with firefighting tools, equipment, and devices faces many difficulties and is often spontaneous due to a lack of funding.

The construction of warning signs, fire prohibition signs, and fire usage regulations along and within forests has not received sufficient investment, and therefore has not been effective in reminding people entering and leaving the forest.