By Tedong Rantayy
MIRI, March 26: Bombardier aircraft from the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (APMM) will be deployed for water bombing operations to combat peat fires in Miri tomorrow (March 27), says Minister-in-charge of Miri Disaster Management Committee (MDMC), Datuk Seri Lee Kim Shin.
Water bombing, a critical method to extinguish fires by dropping large amounts of water from aircraft onto affected areas, will be employed to tackle the ongoing peat fires.
Currently, the Bomba helicopter Mi-17 has been deployed to carry out water bombing at the affected area.
The Bomba team efficiently executed a water bombing operation by dropping 1,600 litres of water at the affected areas at 2.30pm today, with the operation still ongoing.
Lee stated in a press release today that the Bombardier aircraft from the APMM is expected to arrive in Miri tomorrow afternoon (Wednesday) to fight fires in areas inaccessible by land.
Today, the Chief of Bomba Zone 6 reported this evening that the fire had spread and consumed over 100 hectares of land.
Lee disclosed that the Chairman of the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC), Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas, will conduct a working visit to personally inspect the areas affected by peat fires this Thursday (March 28) to gather firsthand information to guide the implementation of necessary measures to combat the peat fires.
On another note, in the event of encountering a peat fire, Lee is urging the public to immediately report the incident to the fire department at 085-420991 or 085-422973, 019-2452642 at 085-646644.
“They can also report to the Natural Resources and Environment Board (NREB) at 085-437488 and the Department of Environment (DOE) at 085-426994, or to the police if they come across individuals carrying out open burning or illegal burning on state land for farming,” he emphasised. — DayakDaily
