Fire fighters are working to distinguish a forest fire in central Phú Yên Province last month. VNA/VNS Photo

PHÚ YÊN — A forest fire destroyed nearly 200ha of forest over the weekend in central Phú Yên Province’s Phú Hoà District, Bảo vệ Pháp luật (Law Protection) online newspaper reported.

The fire raged for around 33 hours after it broke out at around 10.30am on Sunday at Kỳ Lễ mountain area in Hoà Định Tây Commune.

Hundreds of troops, forest rangers, firefighters and local residents joined efforts to stamp out the fire.  

However, dry weather and strong wind made the fire spread quickly while the rough and sloped terrain made it difficult for firefighters to extinguish the fire, according to chairman of the district’s People’s Committee Lê Ngọc Tính.

The fire was basically under control at about 8pm yesterday.

Forest rangers will check the forest today to define the exact amount of forest that was destroyed by the fire, according to Tính. All the forest area under fire was planted by local residents and the trees are about 3-5 years old.

The incident is under investigation. — VNS