After five days of relentless efforts, Thailand’s Department of Public Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DPDPM) announced today (Monday) that firefighters have succeeded in getting forest fires in Nakhon Nayok province under control.
As a result of the success of the mission, the command centre, set up to deal with the fires on Khao Laem and several other mountains in Nakhon Nayok, has been downgraded to just a local-level centre, the task of which is to monitor the situation to ensure that the fires do not reignite.
The department said that five helicopters, from the army, the DPDPM and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, plus a fix-winged aircraft from the Air Force, conducted a total of 516 flights and doused the flames with more than 713,000 litres of water.
Moreover, the fire-fighting efforts were supported by drones, deployed by the Disaster Response Association of Thailand to pinpoint targets for firefighting operations.
Some of the fire-fighting equipment has been left close by, in case it is needed. Sentries will be arranged in high risk areas to watch for any new bushfires.
According to the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, following an aerial survey of Khao Cha Phlu, Khao Laem and Khao Tabaek, the amount of forest damaged by fire is estimated at about 289 hectares.
The fire-fighting efforts have now been refocused onto Suthep-Pui National Park in Chiang Mai province, with the Royal Rain-making and Agricultural Aviation Department being asked to conduct cloud seeding operations.
Three new fires were detected today in the national park and helicopters have been deployed to fight the fires from the air and to prevent the fires from spreading.
Drones were also used to monitor the area for new fires, which might be started by villagers, as authorities are now dealing more harshly with fire-starters.
