KUCHING: The trails at Niah National Park have been temporarily closed after a lightning strike caused a fire on Monday (July 13).
The Sarawak Forestry Corporation said the park management received reports of thick smoke at the limestone hill near Kuala Gua Niah at about 9am.
"According to initial information, there was a thunderstorm at the park from 7am and a fire was believed to have started from a lightning strike.
"A monitoring team found two locations on fire, the limestone hill near Sungai Tangal and the area next to Traders Cave," it said in a statement on its Facebook page.
The corporation said the team's inspection also found that the fire was spreading and explosions were heard from the limestone structure.
"There is a risk of rocks falling towards the trail leading to Traders Cave and the Tangap community stalls.
"For the safety of visitors, the trails at Niah National Park have been closed until further notice," it said.
Meanwhile, the Sarawak Fire and Rescue Department said its air unit based in Miri will be deployed to assist firefighting efforts at Niah through water bombing.
Located near Miri, the Niah National Park is a Unesco World Heritage Site.
Its caves are an important archaeological site, where some of the oldest human remains in Southeast Asia have been discovered.
