KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 11 — A forest fire in Sri Aman has spread across about 100 hectares, raising concerns that it could worsen haze conditions in Sarawak as air quality deteriorates due to transboundary smoke.
A spokesperson for the Sarawak Fire and Rescue Department’s Operations Centre said the fire, which started around noon yesterday, had spread across about 100 hectares of forest along Jalan Kejatau-Lingga, Sri Aman, according to a Harian Metro report.
He said the department received a call about the incident at 1.19pm before a team from the Sri Aman Fire and Rescue Station was dispatched to the scene to conduct firefighting operations.
“The operations team arrived at the location at 1.35pm and began firefighting operations with seven personnel.
“The operation used an open water source from a ditch and also received water supplies from Rural Water Supply Department (JBALB) tanker lorries, as well as a tanker from the Betong Fire and Rescue Station, which supplied water to the fire engine’s tank,” he said in a statement last night.
Firefighters also created firebreaks to prevent the flames from spreading to other areas.
“The firefighting efforts were also assisted by an excavator from the Sri Aman Drainage and Irrigation Department (JPS) to help contain the fire.
“When operations were halted at 7.50pm, about 20 hectares of the total 100 hectares of affected area had been extinguished, while the remaining 80 hectares had not been fully extinguished,” he said.
He said operations would resume tomorrow due to darkness, insufficient lighting and a lack of water sources at the location.
“Among the challenges faced by the operations team were the lack of communication coverage, strong winds that caused the fire to spread rapidly, limited open water sources such as ditches, as well as narrow roads that made it difficult for firefighting vehicles to move,” he said.
Sri Aman was among the locations recording unhealthy Air Pollutant Index (API) readings, with a reading of 114 as of 9pm last night.
