PEKAN: The Fire and Rescue Department will increase the water level at check dams located within the 94ha of land in Kampung Cenderawasih and Palma Valley here to prevent peat soil fires from spreading further, including into the nearby forest reserve.

Its director-general, Datuk Nor Hisham Mohammad, said the fire, which broke out on March 3, has engulfed most of the forest area and might encroach into the Pekan forest reserve if not swiftly contained.

"The dried peat soil poses a challenge for us to prevent the fire from spreading. The technique to increase volume of water in the trenches along the check dams, which can subsequently extinguish the fire.

"The strategy to flood the area will be effective in bringing the situation under control. Blocking the water flow at some sections will see it rising to ground level and acting as a barrier.

"When the water level in the check dams has been increased, boats will be deployed to transport manpower and assets to the burning sites," he told reporters after visiting the site here.

Nor Hisham said the huge forest area and lack of access roads has posed a challenge for firemen battling to put out the fire, which strikes parts of the peatland area in Palma Valley and Chenderawasih almost every year.

Meanwhile, Nor Hisham said 30 firemen from the Pekan, Peramu and Nenasi stations were involved in the operation here.

He said the department's MI-17 helicopter has been deployed to carry out aerial firefighting.

It was reported on March 11 that more than 30 firemen were battling a peat fire at Kampung Cenderawasih and Palma Valley, which had razed 94ha of land.