Speaking with Lao Dong, Mr. Dang Huu Phuc - Chairman of the People's Committee of Duy Xuyen commune, Da Nang city - said that the fire started on the morning of July 19 in the production forest area of the old Duy Son area. The fire was initially brought under control at noon the same day.
However, by the evening of July 19, the fire broke out again due to prolonged drought and strong winds, causing the fire to spread quickly to steep, inaccessible hills. In the dark, the fire spread fiercely, spreading to a large area, creating a column of bright red smoke in the middle of the mountain slope.
During the night, many on-site human resources and officers, soldiers, and fire trucks were mobilized but had difficulty accessing the scene due to the harsh terrain and dark night.
In the face of the above situation, from 5:00 a.m. on July 20, the authorities mobilized nearly 100 people, including cadres, soldiers, militia, police, commune cadres and local people to continue to stay at the scene to contain and prevent the fire from spreading. Firefighting is mainly done manually, by stretching out firebreaks, clearing food, and combining support tools, because fire trucks cannot be reached.
Thanks to the light rain on the morning of July 20, combined with the efforts of the fire fighting force, up to now, the fire has been basically controlled, no longer at risk of spreading to neighboring areas.
According to preliminary estimates, more than 10 hectares of production forest were burned down. The initial cause was determined to be that people burned the ground cover to make bribes but could not control the fire, leading to a widespread fire. Local authorities are coordinating with functional units to verify the specific cause and count actual damage.
"We continue to maintain forces on duty at the scene to monitor the situation, ready to handle if the fire re-ignits. At the same time, local authorities will strengthen propaganda and mobilize people not to burn ground cover during the dry season to minimize the risk of forest fires" - Mr. Phuc emphasized.
