Forest fire damages crops, trees
Forest fire damages crops, trees
16 April 2005
published by Viet Nam News
KHANH HOA – A fire earlier this week at Bac Khanh Vinh Farm, in the centralcoast province of Khanh Hoa, was eventually stamped out on Thursday, but notafter destroying a significant amount of plantation growth.
Nguyen Tan Manh, a local forester, revealed that close to 84ha of farm wentup in smoke, and that investigators have yet to find a cause.
Farmers, however, feel that a local ethnic minority person with a mentaldisorder is responsible for starting the fire.
The man was reported to have been a patient at the provincial rehabilitationcentre, but was released earlier this year. Many local foresters have alsoreported seeing him living at the top of the mountain.
“We believe his careless actions while cooking are the cause behind thefire, and we are in the process of looking for him” said Manh.
More than 400 tree farmers and locals assisted in quashing the blaze, whichreportedly took more than two days to stop because of the harsh terrain andbasic fire fighting equipment at hand.
Local authorities guided residents and farmers in the fighting of the blaze,and ordered the clearing of trees and the digging of a fire break in order toprevent its spread.
Vu Van Chinh, an employee at the Khanh Hoa Hydro-meteorological ForecastingStation, said that while the dry and sunny conditions were right for a fire, itwas unlikely to have been the cause.
“The weather was a major factor in the spread of the fire,” saidChinh. – VNS
Source: Viet Nam News http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/showarticle.php?num=02MIS160405
