Mukah forest fires enter sixth day, raising health concerns

The Star

Forest fires in Sarawak's Mukah region have been burning for six days, raising health concerns among parents and their children, especially those attending school.  Read more at https://tinyurl.com/4n4xmk6p  WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline

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00:00Forest fires in Sarawak's Mukha region have been burning for six days, raising health concerns

00:08among parents and their children, especially those attending school. Despite the poor air quality,

00:14schools in the region remain open, with many students having their masks on. Many residents

00:20and farmers were reeling from the destruction of their gardens, plantations and crops. They said

00:26the fire had swept through their land, which had provided for their families for years.

00:32Sarawak Fire and Rescue Department Deputy Director Tiong Ling-hee said the fire had destroyed 7.29

00:38hectares of land, with another two hectares still actively burning. He said the fire, thought to be

00:44from agricultural open burning on private land, had spread to a nearby oil palm plantation. He said it

00:51is also affecting peat soil, which is hard to put out because it holds heat and smoulders under

00:56ground. Tellian Assemblyman Royston Valentine said he had visited the affected area in Kampung

01:04Petanak, which had resumed burning, and it was feared that the fire would spread to the Mukha Polytechnic,

01:10the airport and other areas. He said the authorities will use water bombing to tackle the fire in the

01:16area in the afternoon. Firefighting efforts in the region have included constructing a firebreak

01:22to protect an electrical grid line and creating a check dam for water access to deploy a total

01:29flooding technique. However, these efforts are challenged by limited accessible water sources,

01:35transport logistics and equipment.

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