As of October 14, Quang Ninh province has recorded 12 forest fires in many localities, of which the island communes of Quan Lan, Minh Chau, and Thang Loi of Van Don district suffered heavy damage with more than 13 hectares of forest burned down.
In Ha Long city, the forest fire in Hong Ha and Ha Trung wards also required the mobilization of more than 13,000 people and vehicles to put out the fire.
Mr. Le Van Thien, Urban Order Team of Hong Ha Ward, said: "There were persistent fires that lasted from noon until 2am the next morning before being completely extinguished. The fires in the area were fires of undergrowth and fallen trees after the storm, but firefighting work encountered many difficulties due to the steep terrain and large numbers of fallen trees causing obstacles."
Since October 1, Quang Ninh province has launched a 30-day campaign to collect forest products and clean up the forest. The goal is to minimize storm damage and limit the spread of forest fires.
Mr. Nguyen Thanh Khuong, Deputy Manager of Quang Ninh Provincial Forest Protection Branch, said: "The provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has developed a plan to divide forest fire risk zones and propose fire prevention and fighting plans. All forest owners, from organizations to households, must voluntarily clear the forest, build firebreaks and register when burning the vegetation."
Currently, the province has about 117,000 hectares of forest damaged at a rate of 30-100%. Most of this area is planted forest, with trees such as acacia, pine, and eucalyptus broken or stripped of their leaves, leaving behind a large amount of dry, flammable material.
In hot, dry weather conditions, this layer of material poses a great risk of fire when exposed to fire or impact from human activities.
One of the major problems facing Quang Ninh is clearing the forest after the storm. Due to the large area of damaged forest, coupled with a shortage of workers and high cleaning costs, many forest owners have been unable to proactively clean the forest according to regulations.
For 2-3 year old plantations that are broken down due to high labor costs and low value of recovered forest products, the progress of clearing vegetation is very slow. This creates a high risk of forest fires, especially during the dry season from October to March of the following year.
With a large amount of flammable materials in the forests after the storm, in addition to close coordination from authorities, it is necessary for people to be proactive in forest fire prevention and fighting to protect the environment and people's lives.
