MIRI: A sum of RM651,000 has been allocated to the Miri Disaster Management Committee to fight peat soil fires in the coming months.
Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah, who revealed this yesterday, said this city and Baram in particular were expected to be affected by the fires from next month until September.
He spoke to the press after attending a briefing at a Tudan lookout tower concerning the fire that has burnt some 1,355 acres in Kuala Baram.
“The Miri Disaster Management committee had requested for the amount,” he said. “I hope they can come up with some concrete plans in the next few months.”
He said the fire in the last five days was not supposed to have occurred, but it had, perhaps due to the dry and hot weather plus the strong wind.
“We were caught off guard,” he admitted.
Uggah said the State Disaster Management Committee under him would hold a meeting soon to discuss a long-term plan to fight such a fire.
“We need to work out strategies like making extra tube wells and use drones for monitoring,” he said.
He spoke of the need to work closely with agencies like the Department of Environment and the Natural Resources and Environment Board (NREB) because they have laws in place to deal with wanton open burning which have caused several forest fires.
After he reminded the public to co-operate by not doing open burning, he said stern action would be taken against the perpetrators if they got caught.
On the whole, he said, firefighters comprising personnel from the Fire and Rescue Department, military, police, Miri Municipal Council, DOE, NREB and other agencies had done very well in fighting recent fires.
Firefighting teams from some local plantation companies had also helped.
“The government really appreciates your contributions and sacrifices,” said Uggah, adding that the usage of modern devices such as drones had played a crucial role in detecting fires in potential hot spots.
Regarding Kuala Baram, he said it was a very critical area as it bordered Brunei which was a member of Asean (Association of South-east Asian Nations).
“We have an Asean environmental organisation that is always monitoring the haze which can become a big international issue,” he said.
“If we can put out the peat soil fire in Kuala Baram, we will not only save Miri but also prevent Brunei from being affected.”
