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Forest Fires in Northern Thailand The Work of Arsonists

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Forest Fires in Northern Thailand The Work of Arsonists

Thailand’s Environment Minister has said foragers and arsonists are responsible for several forest fires in Northern Thailand. Saying Fires in Doi Suthep-Pui National Park were deliberately started to cause trouble.

Environment minister Varawut Silpa-archa said some of the fires at Doi Suthep-Pui National Park in Chiang Mai were the result of villagers burning forest to aid foraging. Even more we found some people deliberately set fires to create mayhem. We do not know why they wished to do this,” Mr Varawut told the Bangkok Post.

The fires which began on March 23 and spread have been mostly subdued. Destroying more than 2,400 rai of forest, Mr Varawut said. He said more than 3,000 ministry employees were drafted in to help fight blazes in the North.

“To some it seems that we are doing nothing. But we have sent thousands of people to help firefighters in the north. However, the areas in which they are operating in are so large,” Mr Varawut said.

Helicopters help fight forest fires

Helicopters fight forest fires

Helicopters from the Environment Ministry and those commandeered from the army and Interior Ministry have been dropping water on fires, while drones were being used to detect new blazes, he said.

Most of the bushfires in Doi Suthep-Pui National Park had been put out yesterday. Chiang Mai provincial governor Charoenrit Sanguansat said almost all bushfires in the park had been doused with water dropped by helicopters.

He said park fires on Doi Pha Dam and others in tambon Ban Pong in Hang Dong district which had raged for a week have been brought under control.

Wutthichai Somwipat, the park chief, said the fire was hard to subdue because combustible material such as dead leaves had built up over several years and strong winds fanned flames across fire breaks.

Air quality continues to to worsen in Chiang Mai

forest fires

Singer Note Panayanggool said the chronic air pollution was affecting her and her family health wise.

“We staying in our home to fight Covid-19. But we think it could be air quality that kills us,”she wrote on her Facebook page.

She said several family members were suffering from eye irritation and blurred vision and her newborn niece was also sick. She added that the ailments were likely caused by fine dust.

Fine particulate readings from 17 detector stations across the northern provinces have recorded extremely high pollution levels. According to Pralong Dumrongthai, director-general of the Pollution Control Department.

Two stations were located in Chiang Rai; five in Chiang Mai; two in Nan; one in Phayao; four in Lampang and three in Phrae, Uttaradit and Mae Hong Son.

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