More than 560 hectares lost to forest, bushfires

A TOTAL of 560.35 hectares of woodland throughout the country was lost due to bush fires as of last Friday, sources at the Fire and Rescue Department yesterday said.

Fire and Rescue personnel in all four districts, in a bid to stay ahead of the situation, has been on a daily constant high alert over the past few months with the round-the-clock patrols and monitoring of identified hot spots aside from the daily fire extinguishing operations on affected areas.

The department sources said Brunei-Muara was the most heavily affected district with a total of 287.47 hectares of land covered in dense vegetation lost to both forest and bush fires.

Belait lost 168.53 hectares and Tutong with 101.35 hectares. In Temburong, only three hectares have been lost to similar blazes.

The department has recorded 35 cases in one day as the highest count of bushfires that have occurred in the Sultanate this year. The blazes were reported March 17, with most taking place in the Brunei-Muara and Tutong Districts. Two days ago, the department received 30 calls.

As putting out the fires have become a daily routine for fire and rescue personnel lately "works to prevent or control the situation have become our top priority", said Mohd Taha Bakar, Public Relations Officer for Belait Fire and Rescue Operation Branch B.

The most recent incident in the Belait District took place early Friday morning in several areas close to the Brunei LNG (BLNG) pipe line which is covered in dense vegetation, said Mohd Taha. "Fortunately, our monitoring team was able to catch the incident early as the location was already identified as a hotspot from past experiences," added the officer.

The current dry spell being experienced by the country coupled with prevailing winds, noted the officer, creates an ideal setting for forest or bushfires, hence the need to constantly monitor fire-prone areas as well as take the necessary measures to prevent any recurrences on already affected areas.

A Fire and Rescue deputy officer said that the most affected areas in the Brunei-Muara District are Junjongan, Lumapas and Terunjing where the fires have occurred not only in the vegetated regions but also dry grasses by the roadside. This is due to the heat emitted from the roads and the grinding of stones and pebbles that ignited sparks onto the dry vegetation.

Similar cases have been experienced in the Tutong District as many passersby on the highway often see bushfires in the afternoon or late afternoon.

The deputy officer said they were noticing a decrease in the number of bushfires as the month comes to an end. The sudden rainfall yesterday also helped dampen the dry vegetation.

According to officers from the Fire and Rescue Department headquarters, the current condition is still considered manageable and is not at a level where it would be declared a national disaster.

This, however, should not be taken for granted as public cooperation in preventing such occurrences from taking place to begin with will help to improve the situation, they said.

The department is advising the public to refrain from carrying out any open burning activity as this will only add to the ever increasing dilemma.

The Brunei Times