According to statistics, Quang Ninh has over 117,000 hectares of forest damaged by storm No. 3, of which the damage level is from 30-100%. Most of the damaged forest area is planted forest with pine, acacia, eucalyptus species; in addition, thousands of hectares of natural forest are affected.
According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Quang Ninh province, it is estimated that there are about 6 million tons of highly flammable materials (trunks, branches, roots, and leaves that are now drying out) at the scene of the damaged forest.
Along with the hot and dry weather, the damaged area has formed layers of highly flammable materials when exposed to fire or external impacts (human, living activities...) which pose a great risk of widespread forest fires, which can even cause environmental disasters and environmental consequences...
According to statistics from the Quang Ninh Provincial Forest Protection Branch, after storm No. 3, from September 28 to now, the whole province has had 8 production forest fires, of which 3 were in Van Don district, 2 in Cam Pha city, 1 in Ba Che district, 1 in Ha Long city, 1 in Mong Cai city, causing more than 50 hectares of forest to be burned.
Mr. Vu Duy Van - Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Quang Ninh province - said that the challenge of forest fire prevention has never been as great as it is today.
The damaged forest area is very large, and access to the scene is difficult due to the fragmented and rugged terrain and limited forestry infrastructure. Therefore, it is very difficult to collect statistics, check and propose forest management plans and forest fire prevention and fighting after the storm.
Along with that, up to 50% of the planted forest area from 2021-2023 was broken, the value of recovered forest products was not enough to cover the cost of clearing, so it is very easy to lead to the situation where forest owners proactively burn to prepare for planting and cause the risk of fire spreading widely into the natural forest area.
Besides, there are many forest areas near residential areas, industrial zones, and service areas, where people are cutting down trees, causing them to fall, so there is always a risk of forest fires.
To minimize the risk of forest fires, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Quang Ninh province has proposed a number of solutions, including asking local authorities and forest owners to voluntarily clean up and clear forests, proactively build firebreaks and handle vegetation to ensure regulations, avoid widespread and passive fires...
Forest owners are requested not to burn materials and vegetation at the damaged forest site on sunny, dry days to prepare for reforestation. Only collect branches, tops, and leaves in a safe place and process them on a cool, early morning before 9am, burning each strip in turn, from the top of the hill to the foot of the hill. Before burning, the village chief, the forest fire prevention and fighting team must be notified; burning is only allowed when the vegetation is safe for forest fire prevention and fighting. When burning, there must be someone on guard and forest fire fighting equipment must be prepared, about 10-15m away, there must be a person on guard on the strip to prevent and immediately extinguish any spreading fires. After burning, the entire burned area must be checked, and only when the fire is completely out can one leave...
Localities are directed to develop plans to replant damaged forests, ensuring that by 2027 at the latest, the forest cover ratio before storm No. 3 occurs.
