Fires from Cambodia ravage Banthat Mountain forests in Trat
Forest fires from Cambodia have spread across Trat’s Banthat Mountains, destroying vast areas of forest. Firefighters are creating buffer zones to protect villages, but landmines in border areas have made efforts to control the blaze even more dangerous.
Forest fires spreading from Cambodia across the Banthat Mountains on Monday afternoon have devastated a vast area of forest in four tambons of Trat province by Tuesday morning.
As of press time, officials had yet to extinguish the fires in the Banthat Mountains, which continue to burn across four tambons in Trat’s Mueang district.
Firefighters Struggle to Contain the Blazes
Firefighters have so far only been able to create buffer zones to prevent the flames from reaching orchards and villagers’ homes in Tha Kum, Ta Kang, Chamrak, and Laem Klud.
Local residents first spotted the fires spreading across the mountain watershed from Cambodia at around 3 pm on Monday.
The Trat Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Office deployed 10,000 litres of water to support firefighters in battling the blazes.
Meanwhile, the Trat Taskforce of the Army dispatched troops to assist local authorities and villagers in containing the fires.
Landmines Hamper Firefighting Efforts
Mueang Trat district chief Kriangkrai Panyapongsathorn reported that by Tuesday morning, the fires had destroyed one-third of the forests in the four affected tambons.
Officials worked urgently to prevent the flames from spreading into Moo 7 village in Tha Kum.
However, Kriangkrai noted that firefighters were unable to climb the mountains to tackle the fires in Tambon Tha Kum and Tambon Ta Kang, as these border areas are known to be heavily contaminated with landmines.
The intense heat from the fires has triggered multiple landmine explosions, further complicating efforts to control the situation, he added.
