Bird's-eye view of the venue hosting the forest firefighting exercise. Photo baophapluat.vn

QUẢNG NAM — A controversial forest firefighting exercise in Quảng Nam Province’s Thăng Bình District has caused some forest trees to be partially burned, leading to kickback from the public.

On June 26, Quảng Nam’s Forest Protection Department coordinated with Thăng Bình District to conduct the exercise in a coastal protected forest in Bình Sa Commune.

One day later, local residents found forest trees that were cut close to the base. Before the exercise, they also saw that there were people coming to cut trees and thought they were loggers destroying the forest. The locals then reported this to the commune authorities.

Explaining this, Châu Quang Anh, Chairman of Bình Sa Commune People's Committee, said that the location for the exercise was selected by the Provincial Forest Protection Department, adding that this location is very sparse and the trees that were sawed had dried up and died.

On Wednesday, the Provincial People's Committee Office of Quảng Nam province confirmed that they had received an explanatory report from the Provincial Forest Protection Department regarding the incident.

Many forest trees were burned during the exercise.

Thăng Bình District was chosen to represent the characteristic situation of forest fires in the province, which have been more common in recent years. The district has experienced five incidents resulting in a forest area loss of 46 hectares.

Hà Phước Phú, Deputy Director of the Quảng Nam Provincial Forest Protection Department, said the firefighting exercise is an annual activity. In the past, it was organised in mountainous areas, but for the last two years, the eastern region of the province has been experiencing frequent forest fires. Therefore, they chose this area for the exercise.

According to the report from the Quảng Nam Provincial Forest Protection Department, the exercise area covered approximately 400 square metres and had sparse vegetation.

The Department affirmed that all activities in the exercise strictly adhered to the designated scenario.

To ensure a successful practical exercise, the firefighters cleared the area thoroughly beforehand. They conducted clearance and water spraying to prevent the fire from spreading into the forest.

Additional fuel materials were added from fallen, dead, and dry trees around the exercise area. Some standing dead trees were also cut to prevent the possibility of the fire being spread by the wind, which could lead to it spreading beyond the exercise area.

A provincial leader of Quảng Nam said that the local People's Committee will soon hold a meeting to evaluate the recent forest firefighting exercise. This will allow the leaders to have more understanding of future exercises and conduct on-site inspections. — VNS