KUANTAN: A massive fire at a coconut plantation near the Kuantan-Sungai Ular bypass here has been raging for more than 10 days, resulting in a devastating impact on fruit trees and significantly reducing air quality in the vicinity.

The fire, which broke out on Feb 22, has, to date, consumed an area measuring a total of 130ha. Of these, the fire in 91ha has been extinguished.

Battling relentless heat and strong winds, firefighters have been working tirelessly to contain the flames that continue to spread at alarming rates. The scorching heat poses a tough challenge for the 70-odd personnel, especially while observing Ramadan.

The media were yesterday transported by four-wheel-drive vehicles provided by the Fire and Rescue Department to the site, about 5km from the operations centre in Gebeng.

The narrow and bumpy road covered with red soil made the ride arduous and some sections were covered with thick smoke. This resulted in zero visibility conditions, forcing the driver to carefully navigate the vehicle to prevent any untoward incident.

Firefighters drenched in sweat were seen spraying water, pumped from a nearby trench, onto the ground to ensure the soil burning beneath the peat surface is properly doused as they try to control the flames from spreading.

The whirring sound from the water pumps fill the area, once covered with lush green coconut trees, as firemen carefully pull the lengthy rubber hoses to ensure it does not come into contact with the burning embers on the ground.

State Fire and Rescue Department director Mohd Razam Taja Rahim said besides firefighters on the ground, the department had deployed a MI-17 helicopter which made 30 trips to drop water buckets holding 1,200l of water each time it took to the skies.

“Besides water bombing, we have utilised the total flooding technique by releasing water from a tanker into the burning site. Once the water fills the trenches, we use the pumps to draw water to put out the blaze in the vicinity.

“Three backhoes and two excavators are used to dig trenches to serve as a fire break to help prevent the flames from spreading.

“We have also applied the direct attack (extinguishing) techniques when there are fresh burning sites.”

Razam said continuous hot weather and strong winds had made their job challenging and hampered efforts to douse the fire.

“We nearly put out the fire on Friday, but windy conditions over the weekend and the constant changing of wind direction at night triggered more areas to be affected and the situation prolonged.

“Besides firemen, the Drainage and Irrigation Department, Public Works Department and Environment Department (DoE) are assisting at the site and we hope to completely douse the fire by the end of this week,” he said.

State DoE director Wandi Yadzid Yaakob said the department had met a representative from the plantation to determine the cause of the fire.

“The fire was not caused by open burning activities. We are working closely with the Fire and Rescue Department to identify the cause of the fire,” he said.

Page 1 pic: An aerial view of the massive fire at a coconut plantation near the KuantanSungai Ular bypass in Balok Baru yesterday.