By Zaki Salleh
KERIAN: The operation to extinguish the brush fire on Gunung Semanggol near here, which involves an area of approximately 58 acres, is still ongoing.
The fire, which began last Thursday, has been successfully brought under control, and efforts to prevent it from spreading are currently underway.
The operation involves machinery and personnel from several fire stations, including Bagan Serai, Kamunting, Taiping, Selama, Parit Buntar, Lenggong, Gerik, Batu Kurau, Pengkalan Hulu, and Trong.
Also assisting are volunteer firefighting teams from Lembah Beriah, Kuala Kurau, and Alor Pongsu.
The Perak State Fire and Rescue Department reported that the extinguishing efforts are also supported by a helicopter conducting water bombing runs, which have been carried out 20 times.
According to the statement, one of the challenges is extinguishing the fire in areas with high-voltage power lines, which requires extra caution.
“In addition, the water source areas for water bombing are quite shallow, causing mud to enter the water buckets.
“The aircraft landing zone, originally at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Gunung Semanggol, has been relocated to the parking area at Bukit Merah Laketown Waterpark due to better suitability for aircraft operations,” the statement added.
Firefighting teams are also cutting down smoldering tree stumps and carrying out full extinguishment.
The ground team, consisting of 31 personnel, has conducted surveys and extinguishing operations in four areas and confirmed that there are no remaining sources of ignition.
They also implemented a ‘relay pumping’ technique over a distance of 2,500 feet using 25 hose reels to extinguish embers and create fire breaks.
