Miri residents choking in haze

Central parts of Miri city covered in thick smog from forest-fires in surrounding areas.

MIRI: The night and early morning hours of Saturday saw many parts of Miri City in the grips of a choking veil of smog.

The central parts of this city and its outskirts were enveloped in a dense shroud of haze caused by wildfires from the surrounding outskirts.

StarMetro did some ground checks and found visibility reduced to just a hundred metres in most residential and commercial areas, especially in the Pujut to Lutong stretch.

The air smelled of smoke, many residents in this city of 350,000 are complaining of breathing difficulties.

Sarawak is facing forest-fires woes that are raging in the northern districts and central districts.

In the northern half, there are raging fires in Miri, Limbang, Marudi and Bekenu districts as well as in Similajau National Park while there are big hotspots in the central districts of Mukah and Kapit.

In Similajau, firemen from Sarawak Fire and Rescue Department managed to douse two hectares out of a 20ha forest fire that has been burning since last week.

Aerial water bombing had already been carried out but the peat fires need to be doused at the ground level.

The wildfires in Sarawak started in early March.