3,400 rai of forest destroyed by blaze..
A fire rips through Phu Kradueng from Sunday morning to early hours of Monday. (Photo from Phu Kradueng Facebook account)
A bushfire in Loei’s famous Phu Kradueng National Park was finally brought under control on Monday morning, after destroying about 3,400 rai of forest.
The fire was first reported at 8.30am on Sunday and raged for 18 hours before being brought under control at about 2am on Monday, Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation director-general, Thanya Netithammakun, announced.
According to Mr Thanya, the fire began at the foot of a hill and rapidly spread up the mountain, fuelled by latex in the rubber sap.
“Strong winds also helped fan the blaze. The tough terrain made extinguishing the fire especially difficult, as some areas were completely inaccessible,” said Mr Thanya, who said the wildfire was “the worst fire in 17 years”.
It took 130 people — including local officials, villagers and even tourists — to bring it under control, according to Mr Thanya.
“Luckily, the fire was subdued before it spread to ecologically sensitive areas,” he said.
Sombat Pimprasit, head of Phu Kradueng National Park, said the forest fire is estimated to have damaged some 3,400 rai of pine forest and prairie grasslands, out of a total park area of 44,325 rai.
“Despite its severity, we were lucky it only damaged the outer rim of the national park,” he said.
“Luckily, the inner core of the national park, where wildlife such as chamois, tigers and elephants live and wild plants are concentrated, were not disturbed.”
While the fires have been subdued, Mr Sombat said there is a high risk of another blaze breaking out because of the dry weather.
At present, local officials, along with villagers and volunteers are rushing to create a two-kilometre buffer zone around the foothills of the mountains, in order to prevent new fires from spreading to ecologically sensitive areas in the park.
Mr Sombat said that he suspected the fire was started deliberately and accused some villagers of setting fire to the forest to help them collect wild animals and plants in the forest.
The park chief insisted that the park remains open to the public.
Phu Kradueng National Park is one of the most important national parks in the country, because of its unique ecology which encompasses a wide variety of different habitats within a relatively small area, which ranges from pine forests to grasslands.
Acts of arson have damaged numerous ecologically sensitive areas in the country, and Phu Kradueng is not the only victim.
Last week, about 13 rai of forest in Doi Pha Mueang Wildlife Sanctuary in Lampang was damaged by fire in a single day.
An ecological conservation area in Tham Pha Thai Park in the same province was also razed by fire last week, destroying some 7 rai of protected forest land.
Bangkok Post
-->Click here to visit our Main UdonInfo Forum Site.
-
UK prisoner extradited from Thailand teste... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Fri, 15:58:02
UPDATE: Neither Mark Rumble nor another suspect deported to the UK have the Covid-19 corona... -
We want more Europeans and more cruise shi... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Fri, 03:53:17
Tourism operators in Koh Samui have called for the government to get more cruise ships to v... -
One in seven public transport vehicles are... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Fri, 07:01:08
About one in seven public transport vehicles have failed safety checks in the first week of... -
Old man harboured a 50 year bullying grudg... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Wed, 03:01:56
Thai caption: Sorry about that mate. A 69 year old man shot his friend of the same age aft... -
Bangkok woman hospitalised after she falls... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Thu, 02:30:03
A 51 year old Thai woman was recently sent to hospital complaining of vaginal pain because ... -
Transport Minister wants to raise the spee... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Wed, 02:41:29
New transport minister Saksayam Chidchob - whose family are famous for having a racetrack i... -
Transport Minister wants to raise the spee... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Wed, 02:34:04
New transport minister Saksayam Chidchob - whose family are famous for having a racetrack i... -
Thai woman's nose job turns foul due to di... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Mon, 05:09:26
A Thai woman in Bangkok went on Facebook after a nose job went wrong. The woman had gone to... -
Thai man sent beautiful Bai Por 2.3 millio... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Sat, 14:11:01
Sanook has reported that a Thai man fell for what he thought was a beautiful woman on Faceb... -
Chiang Mai Airport: Grab car driver says h... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Mon, 01:55:46
A Grab Car driver told the Thai media that he was attacked by officials at Chiang Mai airpo... -
Naked Thai man jumps on pick-up - drugs mi... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Mon, 01:48:31
Our picture from Sanook shows a 22 year old Thai man jumping on the hood of a pick-up truck... -
Electric massage chair almost eats man ali... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Wed, 06:09:06
In Thailand, massages are very popular amongst locals and foreigners. Thai massage shops ca... -
Rapist of granny, 89, caught - but the gra... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Wed, 03:30:18
Police in Trang in southern Thailand have arrested a 71 year old man after he admitted rapi... -
Video: Dog Trashes Car - bugger off and te... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Tue, 03:15:57
A dog owner told their neighbor that they refused to accept responsibility for the damage t... -
The hunt is on for a Thai taxi driver who ... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Wed, 02:09:36
The hunt is on for a Thai taxi driver who took an upskirt picture of a female passenger in ... -
German expats perfect the ' pointing ' sta... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Tue, 06:26:04
Officials in central Prachuap Khiri Khan went to a three story property after complaints th... -
Evidence of prostitution found in Pattaya:... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Tue, 03:43:47
The special administrative department of the Pattaya authorities finally showed the police ... -
Liquids, gels, sprays and food banned from... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Mon, 03:28:46
Sanook said that D-Day for new Civil Aviation Authority bans on a whole host of foods, liqu... -
Chinese tourist in Bangkok caught defecati... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Tue, 05:42:38
Thai Rath reported that a Chinese male tourist had dropped his trousers and attempted to po... -
Outrage after farang stars in Chiang Mai p... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Sat, 03:51:24
Social media users have called for the police to investigate the origins of an adult movie ... -
Villagers in Khon Kaen falling for so-call... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Thu, 00:12:42
KHON KAEN Provincial Public Health official Peera Areerat has warned people against buying ... -
Udon Thani - German pensioner electrocuted... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Wed, 02:30:43
Sanook reported that a 78 year old German pensioner was electrocuted trying to repair a pum... -
German tourist's head bound with duct tape... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Wed, 01:00:00
Ao Nang, Krabi police called to a luxury hotel's 6th floor on Tuesday found a 40 year old G... -
Fired worker went on Bt6m spending spree w... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Tue, 05:44:35
A woman who was fired by her company took revenge by stealing her former boss’s credit card... -
Bikini babes light up record breaking &qu... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Mon, 04:44:35
Cameras were out recording pictures and videos of the attractions at the fourth annual "Cen...
You must be logged in to post a comment.