Category: Forest Fire

Thailand detects over 15,000 hotspots in forests and farmlands

By Pattaya Mail | March 23, 2022

The Interior Ministry has detected 15,716 hotspots which cause haze so far this year.

Sutthipong Chulcharoen, permanent secretary of the Interior Ministry, said that from Jan 1 to March 20 there were 15,716 hotspots including 6,757 in national forest reserves, 4,594 in conservation forests and 2,172 in farmland.

The most hotspots in the North amounted to 2,823 in Mae Hong Son province, followed by 1,971 hotspots in Lampang and 1,665 in Chiang Mai.

In the corresponding period last year there were 51,536 hotspots. This year’s hotspots dropped by 35,820 or 69.50%.

Mr Sutthipong said the Interior Ministry instructed governors of all provinces, especially those in 17 Northern provinces, to monitor local forest fires, hotspots and haze situations, improve response plans and order organizations concerned to take legal action strictly to limit haze. (TNA)

Link: https://www.pattayamail.com/thailandnews/thailand-detects-over-15000-hotspots-in-forests-and-farmlands-393103

Fire fighters containing forest fires in Ob Khan national park in Chiang Mai

March 5, 2022

Chiang Mai Provincial Governor Prachon Prachsakul has ordered local officials and relevant agencies to assist in containing the spread of forest fires at Ob Khan national park in the province.

About 35 fire fighters from the national park and the Mirror Foundation, who have been battling the fires, have complained that there are not enough of them to cope with the fires, which have been burning for more than three days and stretch for about three kilometres through the forest in the park.

Without timely reinforcements, they have expressed concern that the entire 6,000 hectare forest may be wiped out.

The line of fires is located far from communities, but satellite images have detected many hot spots, many of them close together.

Nipaporn Paisarn, the national park chief, said that damage to the forest cannot be assessed yet.

According to the governor, the fires are concentrated in four locations in the park and men from Hang Dong district office have already been sent to battle the fires.

Meanwhile in the neighbouring province of Mae Hong Son, the level of PM2.5 dust in the atmosphere is beyond safety limits due to fires in the province and in Myanmar.

2,000 hot spots have been detected in Myanmar and 800 in Mae Hong Son from satellite images.

Most fires in Thailand’s northern provinces were man-made, when farmers burn farm waste or when villagers set fires in forests to help them hunt for wildlife.

Link: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/fire-fighters-containing-forest-fires-in-ob-khan-national-park-in-chiang-mai/

Thailand: Foreign tourists moved to safety as forest fire breaks out in Phuket’s Rawai area

Sunday, 06 Feb 2022

BANGKOK, Feb 6 (The Nation Thailand/ANN): Tourists were evacuated when a forest fire broke out on Laem Krating Cape in Phuket’s Rawai subdistrict on Saturday night (Feb 5).

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Mae Hong Son Governor Sithichai Jindaluang, accompanied by the Pai district village headman and local government officials, inspected the district on Wednesday after a series of wildfires there after 155 heat points were detected and the River Fire Control Station was called in to tackle several blazes.

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