MUAR: As the peatland fire enters its seventh day in Bakri Batu 13 and 14 here, the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department has begun water bombing via helicopter to control the fire.
Johor Bomba Zone 4 chief Norshuhada Amsari said the water bombing operation, which began at about 9am on Friday (Feb 6), focused on Sector D, the largest fire area estimated at 88ha.
She said until noon, its Air Unit helicopter had carried out approximately 15 operations, using an estimated 12,000 litres of water," she said when contacted by Bernama on Friday.
Norshuhada said the Agusta AW139 helicopter (9M-BOD) is expected to continue firefighting operations for two days until Saturday, depending on the severity of the fire.
She said the firefighting operation on Friday involved four fire sectors with a force of eight Air Unit personnel, including pilots, while the Johor Bomba Zone 4 deployed 73 personnel and officers.
"The fire involved four sectors: Sector A (10ha), Sector B (4ha), Sector C (8ha), and Sector D (88ha). We were surprised by the extent of the fire in Sector D," she said.
She also said previous firefighting operations in Sectors B and C had to use water sources from wells due to a lack of water supply and low pressure in affected areas.
Until 1pm on Friday, the fire in Sector A was successfully extinguished by 96%, while Sectors B and C were completely extinguished.
However, Norshuhada added that only about 9% of the fires in Sector D have been successfully contained. – Bernama
