FIREFIGHTERS have reduced to just 1ha the peat blazes in Sri Aman, Sarawak, that have burned through 54ha of land.

Three “pockets” are still burning, said Tiong Ling Hii, commander of Op STC, named after the village nearest to the fires.

Rain on Saturday, following cloud seeding, lent a helping hand, he said.

In today’s 7.45am report, Tiong said the flames are confined to three areas, namely Sectors A (0.4ha), B (0.4ha) and C (0.2ha).

Firemen deployed to Sector A for the 8pm-to-8am shift found no new blazes, and “totally flooded” spots where there was smoke, he said, adding that scattered fires found in Sector B were quickly extinguished.

Getting to the two areas is difficult due to a lack of access roads, he said.

Sector C was firefighters’ priority over the last few days, as it is located nearest to Kg STC. Firebreaks have been effective in preventing the blazes from reaching homes and buildings.

Tiong said firefighters, with help from the army, Civil Defence Department and other government agencies, are creating access routes to allow long water hoses to reach the spots still burning.

The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency’s water bomber will be deployed again today, he said.

The Canadian-built Bombardier dumped some 60,000l, scooped up from Sg Lingga, in 10 sorties yesterday.

Sarawak disaster management committee chairman Douglas Uggah yesterday said all the efforts have helped lower Sri Aman’s air pollutant index (API) reading.

As at noon today, the area registered an “unhealthy” 115, a marked improvement over 24 hours.

Last week, Sri Aman’s air quality breached the “hazardous” level, at one point hitting an API of 414, due to smoke from local forest fires and blazes in Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Minister Yeo Bee Yin is happy that the situation in Sri Aman has improved, said her point man in the area.

Sri Aman DAP chief Leon Donald said Yeo is “in constant contact with me, asking about the smoke from ground zero”.

He said the rain in the area yesterday and early today was sporadic.

“I have asked her (Yeo) if the frequency of cloud seeding can be increased from the two sorties daily,” he told The Malaysian Insight, adding that the minister has agreed.

“People here are delighted that the API reading has dropped. They were happy just listening to the sound of the water bomber in the sky over the last few days.”

However, he said, fears linger that health problems caused by the smoke will crop up later. – September 23, 2019.