Forest fire in Ha Tinh

Hundreds of households have been evacuated after fires broke out at forests in several central provinces as the heat wave continue ravaging the central region. A large fire broke out in a pine forest in Ha Tinh Province and the on-going heat wave and wind have massively hampered efforts to finally extinguish it.

The local authorities had sent hundreds of people to hold back the fire and evacuate people living nearby. The fire could affect up to 20-30 households.

"The fire broke out on Con Lec Mountain, near Pho Chau Town and Son Ham Commune. The fire was put under control but it flared up again," a witness said.

Chairman of Pho Chau Town Phan Xuan Dinh said because the fire broke out at night and on a slope so they had had many difficulties. State employees and local people were called on to help with fire fighting and extinguished the fire at 11.40 pm.

"We have assigned people to monitor the scene in case the fire broke out again," he said.

In the past three days, wildfire has broken out on over 200 hectares of forest in Huong Son, Nghi Xuan, Hong Linh and Cam Xuyen districts. The fire in Nghi Xuan District continues occurring again periodically. Some 60 hectares of protective forest has been destroyed. VietNamNet/Dtinews