BINTULU: About three acres of the Similajau National Park forest near here were destroyed in a wildfire.
Sarawak Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) assistant operations director Tiong Ling Hii said operations to put out the fire entered its third day and involved the Bomba Mi17i helicopter dropping water on the wildfire.
“As at 3pm, two acres affected have been put out, however, firefighters received reports of reoccurrence of the fire at the said area.
“A total of 18 trips of aerial firefighting were made using a helicopter as of 11am to control the fire. The aerial operation was put on hold as the helicopter headed to the Bintulu airport for refuelling, and the operation resumed at 2.10pm.
“However, at 3.20pm the aerial operation was once again put on hold due to technical problems faced on the bucket,” he said in a statement.
Tiong added that rescue works and monitoring were ongoing assisted by the Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC) to avoid the fire from spreading to other areas “as there is a tendency of reoccurrence of the fire due to the current dry and hot weather condition.”
