Gunung Semanggol Fires Put Out After Razing Over 23 Hectares Of Bushes, Operation To Resume Tomorrow

IPOH, Aug 1 (Bernama) -- A fire which destroyed 23.47 hectares (58 acres) of bushes in Kg Tersusun Tebuk Panchor, Gunung Semanggol, Bagan Serai has been successfully brought under control by fire brigades after entering its second day today.

Perak Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) Operations Division assistant director Sabarodzi Nor Ahmad in a statement said as of this evening, 22.66 hectares (56 acres) of the forest fire, had been completely extinguished and about 0.8 hectares (2 acres) were still burning.

"Fighting was carried out on the ground using mechanical pumps and transport pumps with a 1,000-foot hose with water sourced from a nearby fire hydrant.

"In addition, the area involved in the fire is divided into four sectors and the personnel are divided into six to seven people for each sector," he said.

He said the firefighting operation was also assisted by the Air Unit using an AW 139 aircraft to carry out 20 water bombings.

He said among the challenges during the firefighting was extinguishing areas with high-voltage electrical lines which required greater caution.

"In addition, the water intake area for water bombing was also quite shallow, causing mud to enter the water bucket," he said.

Sabarodzi said the firefighting today was halted at 7 pm and will continue tomorrow with additional personnel and logistics.

"Fighting through ground attack methods by firemen and water bombing will ensure that the remaining embers are completely extinguished,” he said . 

Earlier, the fire that began 3 pm yesterday was said to be caused by prolonged hot weather and the last time a fire occurred in the area was in 2023.

-- BERNAMA