A HUGE forest fire at Chiang Mai’s Ob Luang National Park is spreading widely after officials failed to extinguish it for two days due to difficult access with villagers who secretly started small fires to gather forest products to blame, TV Channel 7 said today (Feb. 25).
The forest fire is mainly spreading in Pha Dam area of this national park next to Road 108 that links Chiang Mai’s Hot district to Mae Hong Son’s Mae Sariang district with one mountain covered with flames and clearly visible from the road at night.
Mr. Suparerk Lertlucksirikul, head of Ob Luang National Park, said the area where the fire is raging, Pha Dam, is difficult to reach with the cliffs being steep which led to the blaze spreading quickly.
Although it is a policy to deploy national park officials at important points to prevent a forest fire from spreading, this blaze started in many places at one go.
Moreover 77 percent of park’s total area of 340,000 rai is a deciduous dipterocarp forest on high mountains with there being a lot of fuel, especially dry leaves, propelling the wildfire.
Mr. Somnuk Thaopha, director of Forest Fire Control and Operations Division at Chiang Mai’s Conservation Area 16 Office, said helicopters from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment have been spraying water for two days but have been unable to put it out.
The situation has worsened as several new fires started overnight with the main cause being villagers sneaking in and starting fires in order to collect forest products such as sweet potatoes and red ant eggs even though the authorities have closed this national park.
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The forest fire raging at Chiang Mai’s Ob Luang National Park. Photo: TV Channel 7
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