MIRI: A forest fire covering over four hectares of land, which is the size of more than 10 football fields combined, is raging in Marudi district in northern Sarawak.
The district is about 60km from Miri, the state’s second largest city.
The blaze started in an agricultural fruit plantation in a locality called Logan Ungalate yesterday evening and has since spread into a forest, said the Sarawak Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba).
“We have deployed firefighting teams from Marudi town to the site,” it said.
“Accessibility is difficult as the fire had spread into a forest. More than 10 acres are burning.
“The agricultural estate management has sent workers and excavators to dig up surrounding areas to create fire-breakers to stop the flames from spreading further,“ said Sarawak Bomba in its updates.
The affected area is located along the road between Marudi and Miri.
Meanwhile, in Mukah district in central Sarawak, another big forest fire that started three days ago is still burning.
“Our fire teams have already doused more than two hectares of the Mukah fire, but about 2.5 hectares are still burning,“ said Sarawak Bomba.
The Air Pollutant Index level at Miri city was 98 this morning, compared to being in the 70s yesterday.
Elsewhere in Sarawak, most parts are seeing API readings in the 70s and 80s today.
