Many localities in Nghe An still lack tools and equipment to fight forest fires.

Hanh Lam Commune, Thanh Chuong District has 7,200 hectares of forest, but only has 2 wind blowers. Photo: Van Truong

Many communes do not have fire fighting equipment.

In Hanh Lam commune, districtThanh Chuonghas a large forest area, but the commune lacks most of the fire-fighting equipment. Mr. Dang Huu Hanh - Chairman of the People's Committee of Hanh Lam commune shared: The whole commune has over 7,200 hectares of forest, of which 5,700 hectares are natural forests, 1,500 hectares are production forests, the risk of forest fires is very high, because there are quite a lot of mixed bamboo and rattan forests.

However, the difficulty is that the whole commune only has 2 blowers, of which 1 was provided in 2020, and 1 was provided in 2014, of which the machine is sometimes damaged such as hard to start, poor air. The commune does not have chainsaws and tools such as fire extinguishers, protective gear for forest fire fighting forces.

In 2021, a forest fire occurred in the commune. The commune mobilized a large number of firefighting forces, but due to a lack of firefighting equipment, the effectiveness of forest firefighting was not high. Some forces lacked equipment and had to break tree branches to put out the forest fire. Because it is a mountainous commune with many difficulties, the commune hopes to receive support from the State to buy more forest firefighting equipment.

Some forest management and protection stations in Thanh Chuong district lack forest fire fighting equipment. Photo: Van Truong

According to the report of Thanh Chuong District People's Committee, the whole district has a fairly large forest area (64,869 hectares), mainly concentrated in the communes of Thanh Duc, Thanh Son, Hanh Lam, Ngoc Lam, Thanh Thuy, Thanh Ha, Thanh Mai... Currently, the whole district has 35 wind blowers, of which, since 2016, the province has supported the locality to buy 10 wind blowers, the remaining 25 wind blowers are allocated from the local budget to buy for the communes. Currently, there are 5 communes without wind blowers, 7 communes without chainsaws.

A representative of Thanh Chuong District Forest Protection Department added: Most of the wind blowers and chainsaws supplied to the communes are regularly maintained, but due to long-term use, they are damaged and do not operate effectively.

To proactively prevent and fight forest fires, Thanh Chuong district proposed to ask relevant agencies for support with over 90 blowers, 150 chainsaws and other fire-fighting tools.

Dien Chau district has a large pine forest area, high risk of forest fires, but also lacks equipment.forest fire fighting. In fact, from 2020-2021, Dien Chau district had many forest fires causing great damage in Dien Loi, Dien An, and Dien Phu communes. The process of fighting forest fires mobilized a large number of forces, however, due to the lack of fire-fighting equipment, blowers, and fire extinguishers, when the fire broke out and spread, the forces could only stand by helplessly.

Many pine forests in Dien Chau district have not been treated for vegetation, leading to a high risk of forest fires, while communes lack equipment to fight forest fires. Photo: Van Truong

Mr. Hoang Cong Truong - Chairman of Dien An Commune People's Committee shared: Dien An commune has 320 hectares of pine forest, but currently, the whole commune only has 1 chainsaw, the commune is having to borrow 2 blowers from the District Forest Protection Department, when a forest fire occurs, it will be difficult and passive in fire fighting.

Mr. Le The Hieu - Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Dien Chau district said: Dien Chau district has over 6,000 hectares of pine forest, the risk of forest fire is very high, because most of the ground cover under the pine forest canopy has not been treated. Meanwhile, the whole district only has 11 chainsaws, more than 30 wind blowers, mainly equipped from 2014-2016, many of which are damaged and have low capacity. To effectively fight forest fires, communes across the district need to be equipped with over 50 wind blowers and 30 chainsaws.

Blowers were used to prevent the fire from rekindling in the forest fire in Nam Dan district. Photo courtesy: Huy Thu

Need to be equipped with additional blowers and chainsaws for key pine forest areas

Research shows that the lack of specialized forest fire fighting equipment and means is one of the causes of serious consequences after fires. In many communes with pine forests in the province, although there are plans for forest fire prevention and control, forest fire fighting equipment is almost lacking.

The militia and self-defense forces approached the area that needed to be extinguished and handled the fire themselves based on their experience by breaking tree branches or using machetes to put out the fire. When large fires occur, with this equipment, it is very difficult to put out the fire effectively.

Nghe An is a province with a large pine forest area, over 16,000 hectares. To respond to forest fire prevention and control work, up to now, the whole province has had 2 fire monitoring camera systems; 180 blowers; 85 vegetation cutters; 122 chainsaws; 1,610 fire extinguishers; 2,574 knives, 2,844 rakes, hoes, shovels; 26 water pumps, 267 handheld speakers, 1,254 fire water cans; 715 flashlights; 250 GPS devices; 17 binoculars... to organize fire fighting when forest fires occur.

Scene of the forest fire that occurred in Thuong Son commune (Do Luong) in early May 2023. Photo: Van Truong

The representative of the Forest Protection Department added: Every year, the Provincial People's Committee supports localities with a part of the budget for fire prevention and control work, such as vegetation treatment, making firebreaks, purchasing some equipment such as blowers, fire extinguishers, etc.

However, forest fire fighting equipment is still lacking. Some districts with large pine forests are proposing to relevant agencies to be equipped with more fire fighting equipment and to provide funding for the installation of fire prevention cameras for localities.

Currently, the Provincial People's Committee has requested localities to urgently direct the review of existing forest fire fighting equipment, determine the demand in terms of quantity and type, and send it to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development for consultation and submission to the Provincial People's Committee for decision. In addition to the province supporting a part of the budget to buy forest fire fighting equipment, districts and forest owners also need to proactively combine capital sources, socialize, invest in equipment themselves, and buy more forest fire fighting equipment.

In addition to forest fire fighting equipment, attention should also be paid to building a number of traffic routes into key pine forest areas, both to act as firebreaks and to facilitate patrolling, bringing people and vehicles (fire trucks) up to quickly extinguish fires when they occur.

Van Truong