BINTULU – Wildfires are raging in parts of a vast dumpsite measuring some 500 acres under the jurisdiction of Bintulu Development Authority and sanitary operator Trienekens outside of Bintulu town in northern Sarawak.
Firefighters from fire stations in Bintulu and Kidurong were on-site trying to contain the fires that had started burning since Sunday, the Sarawak Fire and Rescue Department said in a press statement today.
“Our firefighting units have also deployed water tankers, while Trienekens and the Bintulu Development Authority have also sent workers to fight the fires.
“However, the teams in the fire sites have had to retreat several times due to very thick smoke spreading.
“The fires had started burning inside the dump area since Sunday,” the department said.
The strong wind is causing the fires to continue spreading on the surface while the fires are also burning deep into the mountains of rubbish that include domestic and industrial wastes.
The department is still probing how the fires in the dumpsite started.
The dumpsite fires had caused the Air Pollutant Index (API) in the Bintulu division to rise to the 70s mark this morning.
In other parts of Sarawak, the divisions of Kuching, Serian and Samarahan in southern Sarawak are being covered in haze due to local hotspots and transboundary smog blown into the state from massive forest fires raging in the Kalimantan province of the Indonesian part of Borneo Island.
As at noon today, the API readings in most parts of Sarawak have been rising, with Kuching and Serian facing unhealthy levels at 152, Samarahan (100), Sri Aman (97), and Lundu (90), with the other big urban divisions of Sibu, Miri, Bintulu, Mukah, Samalaju, Tebedu and Lubok Antu having APIs in their 70s marking. – The Vibes, September 5, 2023
