Intense heat arrives early, consecutive forest fires occur
From the beginning of April 2026 to now, intense heat came earlier than usual, and forest fires continuously occurred in Nghe An province.
On April 10-13, a series of forest fires occurred in Chau Binh, Tam Hop, Tan Chau, Bich Hao and An Chau communes, forcing functional forces and people to mobilize hundreds of people to participate in extinguishing fires in harsh weather conditions.
At about 1 pm on April 11, in hamlet 10, An Chau commune, the area behind Mo Da mountain, a forest fire occurred at lot 24, plot 4, sub-area 896. The fire area is mainly production forest with pine and acacia trees.
Immediately after receiving the news, local authorities mobilized more than 100 people including police, forest rangers, military, militia and people to quickly approach the scene and deploy firefighting measures.
Due to prolonged hot weather, dry vegetation combined with strong winds, the fire spread quickly along the mountainside, causing many difficulties for firefighting work. Functional forces had to clear vegetation, create firebreaks, and use handicrafts to encircle the fire area.
By more than 2 pm on the same day, the fire was basically under control with an affected area of more than 500m2. However, around midnight, the fire suddenly flared up again, forcing forces to handle it overnight, not allowing the fire to spread.
Previously, on the evening of April 10, another forest fire occurred in the Ke Nam village area, bordering Chau Binh and Tam Hop communes. More than 200 people were mobilized to extinguish the fire in complex and difficult-to-reach terrain conditions.
According to statistics, in just a few days, Nghe An has experienced 5 forest fires. Many cases occurred at night, making detection and control work difficult.
Functional agencies determined that the main cause was intense heat coming early, combined with strong southwest foehn wind (Lao wind) blowing strongly, making the ground cover dry, easily catch fire and spread quickly.
Province urgently responds
Faced with the complicated developments of the weather and the increasing risk of forest fires, on April 13, the Chairman of Nghe An Provincial People's Committee issued Official Dispatch No. 09/CD-UBND requesting departments, branches, and localities to drastically implement forest fire prevention and fighting measures.
The telegram clearly stated that many areas in the area are at the forest fire warning level from level IV to level V - a dangerous and extremely dangerous level, posing a potential risk of large fires.
The Provincial People's Committee requires strictly prohibiting the use of fire in the forest and treating vegetation on hot sunny days; it is only allowed to be carried out when the risk of fire is low and must ensure full safety measures.
At the same time, the Chairmen of the People's Committees of communes and wards must be directly responsible for forest fire prevention and fighting in the area; in case forest fires occur causing great damage, they will be responsible to the Provincial People's Committee.
Along with that, localities are required to review the "4 on-the-spot" plan, arrange forces, vehicles, and be on duty 24/24 in key areas; strengthen inspection and control of the use of fire in and near forests, and strictly handle violations.
Previously, on April 13, Vice Chairman of Nghe An Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Van De directly inspected forest fire prevention and fighting work in An Chau and Binh Minh communes - areas with high fire risk and forest fires have occurred.
Through inspection, Vice Chairman of Nghe An Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Van De requested: "During this peak heat wave, localities must focus on regular duty, strictly control the use of fire in and near forests; temporarily stop using fire to treat ground cover. When a fire occurs, the Chairman of the Commune or Ward People's Committee must be present at the scene to directly direct, to prevent large fires from spreading.
